Bully
by Nikkette
Summary: 17 year old Maggie Lovelace has just moved across town with her parents to the suburbs. Because of this, she has to go to a new school, which just so happens to be McKinley High. Little does she know, however, that saving a fellow student from being stuffed into a locker will make her a target for two of the school's top bullies, especially one in particular. FilkinsxOC.
1. Arrival

**A/N: Top reasons I'm writing a Drillbit Taylor fanfiction as my first story:**

**1\. I noticed that there were little to NO fanfics for Drillbit Taylor (at least none that weren't slash).**

**2\. It's a pretty good film in my opinion, and deserves more love.**

**3\. AND after reading countless fanfictions myself, I thought I'd contribute. **

**3.2 ALSO, I'm not very good at writing 'lovey dovey' stories, though I'll admit I do like them. So after reading a few *cough*hundred*cough* romance fanfics I thought: 'Well shoot! I could do that and better!' **

**Granted, my confidence slowly dwindled as I wrote the story, but I'm not a quitter! ('-')/**

**Please note that this story is already finished, I just have to post. Updates will be once a week, and will (eventually) differ between Maggie and Terry/Filkin's point of view.**

**No, I'm not the best writer in the world, but hopefully it's competent. Enjoy ;)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Drillbit Taylor.**

Chapter 1: Arrival ~

The bus ride was long and bumpy as Maggie Lovelace waited to arrive at her new school. Her parents had moved across town. For what reason, she had no idea. All she knew was that they had moved to the suburbs, and now she had to attend a new school.

It was a nice place, or so she had heard.

Maggie stared out her window, observing a flock of birds fleeing a tree. '_At least we moved before the school year started,_' She thought to herself. Looking away from the birds, she turned her attention towards the road, watching as the yellow paint streaks flew by in a continuous line.

As she stared mindlessly at the blurred pavement, she became lost in thought.

Ha, mindless! In thought! ...Er, never mind.

With nothing else to do, she thought about people (her parents in particular), her new house, her new school...her new _everything,_ really, and compared her 'old' life with her 'new' one. As she weighed the various pros and cons of a new school, she came to the conclusion-

Bump.

Maggie was hurled a good 6 inches from her seat as the bus hit a rather deep crease in the road. _Shouldn't buses have seatbelts? I mean, _really,_ they're moving all these kids and their lives are in the driver's hands and there aren't really any seatbelts and if they got into a crash, then-_

_Wait._

She was getting off track. Where was she? Ah, yes.

As she weighed the pros and cons of a new school, Maggie came to the conclusion that-

Bump.

Gosh, did this place _have_ to have so many potholes?! Anyway, she came to the conclusion that-

Bump.

URGH! The conclusion that-

Bump, bump.

That MAYBE a new school wouldn't be so bad after all-

BUMP.

Maggie jerked in her place as some _retard_ behind her gave her seat a good kick. Jerk.

Now, where was she? Oh yeah. Never mind.

* * *

She couldn't help but stand and stare at the two long flights of stairs leading up to Mckinley High. But it wasn't because she was in 'awe' of how awesome it was. It certainly didn't _look_ new. In fact, it looked...kind of run-down. In her opinion.

Her old school was better. Better looking, anyway. She couldn't say about the teachers or the cafeteria food. Yet.

Finally done with critisizing the cosmetics of her new high school, Maggie climbed the steps, walked inside, and made her way to the Principal's office to get settled in.

* * *

'Well _that_ was painless,' she thought to herself. Maggie maneuvered around the sea of, dare she say, 'eager' students as she made her way to her locker. The Principal had been pretty nice. Accomodating, even. Heck, he was probably a _great_ guy. A little snobbish in his looks, buy hey, you can't have everything.

Maggie paused, turning around to observe how far she had come, though with all the other students in the way it didn't make much difference. Principal Doppler had asked her if she needed help, but she had told him (rather confidently at the time) that she could find her locker on her own.

Now she wasn't so sure.

Just as she contemplated asking someone for help, the ocean of students parted like the Red Sea and gave her a clear view of her new locker. _Finally! _Moving closer, Maggie couldn't help but notice its color:

Blue.

Light blue. Light, happy, sky _blue._

The lockers at her old school were red. Faded, dark, rusty, _depressing_ red. This was definitely an improvement. As she finished putting her things away, Maggie closed her locker and stared at it for a minute.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe everything would be just fine. The students seemed nice, maybe she'd make a friend or two-

Maggie grunted as she was pushed into her locker by a couple of students.

Never mind.

**A/N: You can probably guess who the two 'students' are :P I wish I could say that this is my first story (well, it _is_ on Fanfiction) but, it's not :/ It's actually my second, the first was for Naruto. Though I wrote it so long ago that it's pretty much a laughable piece of decroded _crap, _so I'm not even going to BOTHER posting _that_ thing. **

**Maggie, of course, is an OC, and if you're curious as to what she looks like, you can do this:**

** art-gem. deviantart /art/Coloring-experimentation-363706546 **

**Copy the above link, paste it into the address bar, and put '.com' right after the 'deviantart' part. Oh, and delete the spaces. **

**This chapter is equal to one page in Microsoft Word, and it's pretty short, I'll admit. But it IS the shortest chapter in the ENTIRE STORY, so don't you worry about that, dear reader.  
**

**I pride myself on proper spelling and I proofread this baby 3 times, so if you find any, ANY kind of typo, you let me know and I'll zap that thing :D  
**

**Until next week :)**


	2. Meeting

**A/N: in THIS chapter: Maggie meets Ronnie and Filkins, saves Emmit, gets stuck with a mysterious book bag, and issues a challenge.**

**Disclaimer: do not own Drillbit Taylor.**

Chapter 2: Meeting~

When Maggie finally got her bearings, she turned around, ready to deck whoever shoved her. Her intentions were halted, however, when she took in the scene before her.

Two men...well, guys- _students _-promptly shoved a small...child(?) into a locker. Was he a student? He seemed too young to be here.

_'Maybe he has a medical condition or something'_ she thought to herself.

The two 'students' continued pushing and shoving the young boy until he was completely inside of the locker, laughing and smiling all the while. _Delinquents._

"Come on, guys, this isn't funny! Books go in here! _I am NOT a book!_" Their unfortunate victim yelled.

Sadly, the boy's cries for help went unheard by everyone save herself. Well, okay, they could hear. They stood in a small crowd observing the spectacle so she was _sure_ they weren't deaf. They just didn't _do _anything about it.

And that was so not cool.

Bullying had always been a sensitive topic for Maggie. She hated it, and she simply _couldn't_ stand by and let some punk with daddy-problems rough up some innocent bystander. At her old school, she would become friends with the victims and (when possible) deck the tormentors. Simple as that.

This, however, was a special case, of which there had only been two in Maggie's life of 17 years. Once in the 9th grade and once on a playground at a park she couldn't remember the name to. _This _happened to be a special case because the situation almost surely ruled out her usual two options for things like this: friendship for the victims, and hurt for the tormentors.

Friendship was most likely not an option because...well, just _look_ at him! Maggie took one good look at the boy, who couldn't have been more than 12, and took in his appearance as best she could without the bullies getting in the way.

He had on baggy blue jeans (faded, of course), a light blue button-up shirt (a bit too dressy), wore braces (yikes), and he had a shaggy bowl-cut hairdo (…). Oh, and a somewhat crooked nose.

Not that appearances mattered to Maggie. Because they didn't. They really didn't. Not too much, anyway.

It was his age, or lack of age, really, that made her realize that she (most likely) wouldn't be making friends with him.

He was much too young. He didn't belong here. Heck, he probably got on the wrong bus or something.

This was a _High school,_ and from the looks of it, he hadn't even gone through puberty yet.

And then, of course, there was option 2: going all-out on the bullies and beating them to a pulp.

It wasn't that she was incapable, of course, because she totally was. She'd done it before. The one that appeared to be the leader of the two was fairly skinny, and although she could tell he had _some _definition in those spindly arms of his, she could easily knock him out with a good uppercut...or something.

It was the other one, the minion, so to speak, that made Maggie keep her distance.

He was, in a word, big. He wasn't fat or anything, he was just...big. He was at _least_ 6'2", and he had a beard coming in, making him look automatically older than any other kid in the entire school.

Maybe even some of the teachers, who knows.

But despite all these perfectly logical reasons _not _to engage in open combat on the first day of school, Maggie suddenly became aware of four _very_ important facts:

1\. This was going to be the craziest school year of her life.

2\. The leader (let's call him Dave for now, she didn't like that name) was the one who pushed her.

3\. Napoleon Dynamite was an awesome movie.

And 4. She needed to help that kid.

Just as she had made her decision, 'Dave' and (...Bob. He looks like a Bob) 'Bob' slammed the locker shut, locked it, and walked away laughing, leaving their victim crying - no, yelling. Crying was less dignified - behind them.

The second they left, Maggie sprang into action. She sauntered over to his locker and stared up at him through the metal slits.

"Are you okay?" She asked, brow furrowed in anger and worry.

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine. I just got _stuffed into a locker_ on the first day of school, haha. No big deal." He laughed out nervously.

She couldn't tell if he was joking or being sarcastic.

"Well, do you want help?" She asked, trying to get across the point that she wasn't there to mock him.

He stared at her for a couple of seconds before replying in a somewhat relieved tone, "Oh, it'd be _great_ if you could get me out of here!"

"Okay," Maggie breathed, looking down at the lock.

"What's the combination?" She asked, looking back up at him.

"It's 12-21-15! Hurry, just..._get me out of here!"_ He shrieked out frantically.

Maggie put the numbers in and opened the door for him to get out. When he hopped down and dusted himself off, he only came up to her chest. And she was short. Standing at 5'4", she was probably the shortest girl in the whole school.

_'Well not anymore,'_ she thought happily.

...

Oh, wait.

He's not a girl.

Never mind.

"I'm Emmit, by the way." He said nervously as he picked up his books. Emmit swallowed hard and his eyes darted in every possible direction, probably scanning for an oncoming attack. _Jumpy kid._

"I'm Maggie," She replied with a small smile, though she didn't bother to hold out a hand for him to shake.

"Oh, I like your name!" He smiled dorkishly, showing off his braces.

"Yours, too." She lied.

...Bully victims need support.

A few seconds of awkward silence passed between them. Maggie thought about walking off to find her first class, but her curiosity got the better of her and she asked,

"How old are you?"

Emmit stared at her for a moment before answering in that skittish voice of his, "Oh, I'm 14."

_What?14?!_ No way. He didn't look more than 12.

At Maggie's failure to hide her dumbfounded expression he quickly added, "I skipped a grade." Oh. That made sense.

Another awkward silence.

Emmit was the one to break it. "Um, hey. Do you, maybe, wanna-"

"_Hey!"_

Emmit looked past her, his face paling considerably. It didn't take a genius to figure out who he was looking at. Maggie sagged her shoulders and threw her head back, aggravated, and turned around.

There they were, the two jerk-offs from not 5 minutes ago.

And they were stalking towards her.

_Great._

'Dave' barged his way through the crowd, 'Bob' following close behind. He didn't have to do much pushing; most of the students moved out of the way as soon as they saw him coming. Apparently they were used to these two.

Dave, shoving a random student to the side, paused for a moment to look at Maggie. Once he took in her defiant expression, his face almost immediately turned from irritated to angry. His brow furrowed, his lips pursed, and his eyes widened.

It was almost comical, if not for the fact that he was totally fuming.

Of course, personal space meant nothing to bullies. He was in her face in a second.

"_What_ the hell do you think you're doing?" Dave demanded, his face hovering angrily above hers.

Maggie didn't miss a beat. "Helping a fellow student."

Maybe it was the way she said the sentence with such obvious simplicity, as if talking to a child, or maybe the way she coated her words with a bit too much fake sweetness, or maybe it was just her face, but Dave became even angrier.

"Well _stop_ helping," He said curtly. Dave then glanced above her head, finding Emmit. He pointed a finger past Maggie at him.

_"You,"_ He said menacingly. Emmit jerked in response.

Dave pointed at the locker. "You get back in there." He ordered.

Emmit didn't have to be told twice. He immediately clambered back inside his locker, fitting into it as best he could, and slammed the door.

Dave turned his attention back to Maggie. "And _you,"_ He said, now pointing at her.

"_You,_" He began, poking her in the collarbone, "can go _back,_" - poke - "to whatever _hole_ you crawled out of," - poke - "and _just_," - poke - "STAY there."

This time he shoved her. Into the lockers. Into _Emmit's_ locker. By the time Maggie recovered and she opened her eyes, Dave was in her face again.

He had lowered himself to eye level with her, and had also been kind to rest his arm on the locker to her right, blocking her escape route.

_How lovely._

She started to turn her face away in defiance, but stopped when her face nearly collided with Bob's. Apparently he was denied attention as a child, because he was so close his whole_ face_ took up her vision. She couldn't even focus her eyes on him, he was so close.

But two things were obvious: He enjoyed irritating people. And his breath was _awful._

It smelled like he had eaten tomato soup with onions, then decided on decaying teeth for dessert afterward. Needless to say, Maggie turned her head back to Dave.

"And the_ next_ time you decide to," Dave held up his hand and air-quoted, "'help'," he feigned a concerned expression, "just remember: _I'm _in charge here. And what I want," he paused for effect, "I _get._ And if I wanna shove the World's Smartest Midget into a locker," he leaned closer, his face getting blurrier and blurrier, "I _will."_

He breathed out the last word, fanning peppermint all over her face.

A welcome change, compared to Bob.

Apparently satisfied with their 'reasoning', Dave pushed off the locker, lightly hitting Bob's arm with the back of his wrist.

"C'mon, Ronnie, let's go." And with that, they were gone. It was then that she noticed how much attention they had attracted. The students, now bored with the lack of action, gradually resumed their previous tasks.

"Well _that_ was scary," said Emmit, who had been watching the entire time through the slits in the locker. Maggie, ignoring the fact that she had just made a spectacle of herself on the first day of school, rolled her eyes, pushed off his locker, and opened it up. Emmit hopped out and dusted himself off.

Again.

Maggie picked up his books – at least she assumed they were his books – and handed them to him.

"Are you gonna be okay?" She asked.

He looked up. "Oh, yeah. I'll be fine." He replied, already cheerful now that Bob and Dave were gone.

Well, _Ronnie_ and Dave.

"I would've hit him for you, but, that'll have to wait another day." She said it jokingly, but Emmit could tell by the dim fire in her eyes that she was completely serious.

He laughed anyway, though, catching on to the fact that she was obviously trying to lighten the mood.

"Thanks, let me know when you do."

"Alright." She agreed.

Maggie began walking away, but turned around to ask: "Are you _sure_ you're gonna be okay?"

Emmit smiled. "Yeah!" He shrieked out. Clearly embarrassed, he tugged at his collar, clearing his throat. "I mean, um...yeah."

Sated but not satisfied, Maggie simply answered with a disbelieving "Okay."

And with that, she turned around and resumed walking to her first class.

When she was a little more than halfway down the hall, she looked back once more. Emmit was still standing there, but he was talking to someone. Two someones. A skinny kid with glasses and curly hair, and a – erm – _'_chubby_' _short kid with a bit of an afro, though you could tell it was just really curly.

'_They're both wearing the same shirt,'_ She thought absent mindedly.

She could only imagine how humiliated they were, especially with it being the first day of school and all. Emmit was _sure_ to be mocked if he started hanging out with _those_ two.

_'Well at _least _he's making friends,' _Her conscience countered.

As Maggie turned to leave, she bumped into a fellow student - a female student, to be exact - though at the time all she really saw was a mess of blonde and black.

As she picked up her books, Maggie couldn't help but notice this girl's appearance. She had straight blonde hair with the tips dyed black that came down far past her shoulders, and her left – well, _her _left, Maggie's right – eye was covered with black emo bangs. She had pale skin, an oval face and a long, thin nose.

Unlike Maggie, she wore makeup, but not obsessively so.

And her clothes.

They were so...odd.

She was wearing a loose oversized black t-shirt with wolf's eyes printed on the front, and a purple-and-black plaid pleated skirt with a chain hanging off it.

They weren't _too_ odd, she supposed, but her tights were the real eye-stopper. They were...she didn't even know. They were just a mesh of bright neon yellows and reds and purples and blues and...were those bunnies? Anyway, the tights combined with the black combat boots she wore made her look _quite_ odd.

But oh, well. Who was she to judge?

Noticing the girl's obvious self-consciousness, Maggie quickly averted her eyes, trying her hardest not to ogle and keep her attention on her books (which had fallen to the floor).

It was tough, but she was successful.

As they both finished picking up their things, the young girl abruptly walked off.

Weird.

Maggie noticed the girl's book bag on the floor. She must have forgotten it. Looking up to call for her, Maggie realized she was nowhere to be found. Sighing, she bent down and picked it up, searching for a name tag.

Alexandria. Hm.

Taking one last look around her and, finding no Alexandria, Maggie slung the bag around her shoulder, letting her own drag on the floor from her fingertips, and started towards class.

* * *

Maggie walked into History class feeling pretty confident. That is, until she saw the students. Two in particular.

Sitting four seats away from where she stood by the teacher's desk, behind the ONLY empty seat (apparently she was the last one to make it to class, how convenient) was Dave.

And next to him (of course) was Ronnie, but only Dave paid any attention to her. Mr. Dunbar asked her to introduce herself, and she did as she was told, though she was none too enthusiastic about sitting with her back turned to _Dave_ for an hour-

"Mr. Filkins, would you please help Ms. Lovelace into her seat?" Mr. Dunbar asked.

-Sitting next to _Filkins_ for an hour.

This was _not_ happening. She could not let this go down.

Turning to Mr. Dunbar, she asked in a sweetly innocent voice, "Um, actually, I was wondering if I could sit next to," she briefly scanned the seats, finding her little friend from not 15 minutes ago.

"Emmit?" Mr. Dunbar glanced over at the boy in question, and Maggie waited with bated breath as he replied, "I'm terribly sorry, Ms. Lovelace, but the seats are assigned. Sorry, but you'll have to sit by Mr. Filkins." He gave her a sympathetic look, but that was about it.

Great. There was no getting around this.

Sighing silently in defeat, Maggie trudged down the first aisle of seats, stopping next to hers. It was the third from the back, and third from the front. In the middle. Yay.

Filkins had already gotten up and pulled out her chair for her, an innocent 'nice-guy' expression on his face, smile and all. A look which was obviously reserved for teachers and grown-ups. So he was one of _those._

He gestured for her to sit down, and she was so irritated at this point that she didn't bother holding back the eye roll she felt coming on. She set down her bags (judging from all of the odd looks she received they probably thought she stole the extra one) and sat down. She spared herself no dignity as she twisted around in her seat to stare back at Filkins, who was smiling innocently at her.

Maggie's eyes narrowed to slits, sending him the clear message that she would be on her guard.

Filkins, however, squinted his eyes as well, changing his angelic smile to a devilish smirk. Maggie sent him one final death glare before turning back around in her seat. Mr. Dunbar had already started his lesson. Something about the Civil War.

While trying to focus on the teacher, Maggie thought about what had just occurred.

A challenge had been issued. Though no words had been spoken, it was a mutually silent agreement, she was sure. And she was _so_ going to win -

Tug.

Maggie's head jerked back as she felt a firm tug on one of her long, brown, wavy strands of hair.

...Never mind.

**A/N: Oh-KAY, SO! Not really much to say about this chapter, except that I feel like I use italics too much :/ I was gonna wait until tomorrow to update, but I was bored and couldn't wait :P **

**And yes, just to be clear, those two 'kids' that Emmit was talking to? Yeah, they were Ryan and Wade, from the movie. They'll make numerous cameos throughout the story, so keep an eye out. **

**...Or not. I don't care. Whichever you prefer.**

**Oh, and just in case there was any confusion (though I doubt it), 'Bob' was Maggie's temporary nickname for Ronnie and 'Dave' was for Filkins.**

**As I said before, I'm not the best writer, it's really just a hobby to pass the time. I'm good at spelling and grammar (I know the differences between there, their, and they're and all that jazz) and **_**basic**_** structure, but not much else. **

**SO, if you have any pointers for me, fire away.**

**Also, I've decided to update twice a week now, because I was looking back at all the chapters I wrote and it would be horrendously slow if I were only to update once every week :/**

**So yeah, I'm gonna update twice a week now.**

**'Till next time ;)**


	3. Target

**A/N: In THIS chapter: Maggie detects a pattern, Terry finds out where she lives, we meet Maggie's parents, and sit through an awkward dinner.**

**Disclaimer: do not own Drillbit Taylor.**

Chapter 3: Target ~

After about a week of bullying from Filkins, Maggie began to notice a pattern. In History class he pulled her hair, in English he would try his best to trip her on her way to her seat without being noticed by Ms. Zachey, in Science he would constantly kick the leg of her chair, which ultimately led to her trying to write as much as she could within the 1.5 seconds it took him to swing his legs back and forth.

How he got this past any of the teachers she didn't know. And then there was Math. Luckily for her, nothing bad really happened to Maggie during Math. _During_ being the key word. It was what happened after that that had her dreading the end of class.

See, Filkins chewed gum during Math class. So, when everyone was done with their work and heading out the door, he would always – _always_ – manage to stick gum somewhere on her person.

Sometimes she'd find it on an arm, sometimes inside her hoodie. Once she found some insider her back pocket. She'd never know how he pulled _that_ one off. But this time, however, he'd put it in the one place no decent girl wants to be messed with.

He'd stuck it in her hair.

Needless to say, she always checked herself when she got out of class. Which, of course, leads us to where Maggie is now, which is in her kitchen. Sitting on a stool. Waiting, thinking, as her mom cut her hair.

'Stupid _Filkins,'_ She thought bitterly.

At least her mom knew what she was doing. She was going to be a hairstylist or something, but she dropped out when she met Maggie's dad. Her dad was a dentist, so her mother was a stay-at-home mom.

That is, up until recently. Her mother Claire didn't have a job or anything, but she was definitely out of the house more often. Whether it was shopping, out with friends, or going to bingo (older women went to bingo, right?), Maggie's mother was hardly ever home when she got back from school.

Luckily for her, this was _not_ one of those cases.

"Okaaay," Claire sang enthusiastically. "All done!"

Maggie got up from her seat and strode out of the kitchen, through the dining room, around the stairwell and into the bathroom. As she looked herself over in the mirror, she couldn't help but notice how much shorter her hair was from behind, at least compared to the front. Her hair, which was normally wavy, now had tighter curls in the back.

But she didn't mind. She _had_ asked her mom to leave the front alone, after all. Besides, now that it was shorter, maybe Filkins would be forced to stop yanking her hair out in History class…okay, well he didn't _yank it out,_ but it was still annoying as heck. Still, he'd have no one to blame but himself.

_'Done in by his own stupidity,'_ She thought triumphantly.

As she finished observing her mom's handiwork, Maggie strolled out of the bathroom, and, taking a left around the corner (she had to remember these things as it was still a new house), into the living room. It was Friday, and Maggie planned to spend her weekend _Filkins-free._

She had recently discovered he lived about six houses up from them. Or maybe it was down. Whatever. She had never actually seen him, but she recognized the black Mustang in the driveway and, more importantly, the license plate number.

_Hey, you can't be too careful._

Ding-dong.

Maggie rolled her eyes at their cliché doorbell. She thought about getting up to greet her dad (he usually got home by now) but decided on lying down, snuggling deeper into the couch, and switching over to the cartoons. She heard the door open, heard her mother's formal greeting, and – _hey! That wasn't her dad's voice!_

Maggie listened intently to the conversation going on not 10 feet from where she sat. Rested. _Lay..._never mind.

"So you're a friend of Maggie's?" She heard her mother ask. That's funny, because last she recalled, she didn't _have_ any friends. Maggie's head shot up from behind the couch so she could get a better look.

_Filkins._

"Uh yeah, we met on the first day of school and just kinda hit it off." _Hit _was right! Filkins had on his usual 'innocent' persona he wore when he was around grown-ups: soft eyes, boyish smile, slightly raised eyebrows, and (here's the kicker) dimples.

Utterly disgusting.

Filkins caught Maggie staring and, grinning slightly for effect, gave her a small wave.

"Hi, Maggie." Why that son of a –

"We're going to be having dinner here in about 30 minutes, so why don't you stay?" Her 'mother' suggested. _No._

"Well that would be _wonderful,_ Mrs. Lovelace!" _No no no no no no no._

"Aww, you're welcome!" She could only watch in disgust as her mother, the woman that gave _birth_, love and LIFE to her, hugged the Devil's Spawn.

She couldn't help it. Her jaw dropped open. And Filkins, still hugging her mom, stared right back at her, grinning like the he-devil he was.

_Dinner. _She was going to be having _dinner _with this…this…_tyrant!_

Filkins-free weekend. Ha.

* * *

Maggie silently seethed as she calmly flipped through the channels on their High Definition Television. After her mom invited Filkins into the house – let him taint these oh-so-sacred walls – he wasted no time in sitting next to her on the couch. _Her _couch. NOT his…ugh, never mind.

It was fine, after the first 30 seconds (a record for him). They sat in silence next to each other, both pretending to watch the t.v. screen as Claire prepared supper. Yes, for those glorious 30 seconds, everything was fine.

Until he touched her. Apparently the flubber thought it was perfectly fine to suddenly just _rest_ his hand on her knee. Like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Yeah, _right._

At first, Maggie retaliated by simply grabbing his hand – as hard as she could, mind you – and shoving it back towards him. She could think of another place she'd like to shove it, of course, but that wasn't a possibility with her mom around.

But Filkins, as expected, didn't give up after a single failure, so of course he moved his hand right back where it was. Maggie, however, didn't give up so easily either, so of course _she_ shoved him away. And…of course, he moved it back. And she shoved him away. And he moved it back. And she shoved away…and he moved back…and she – you know what?

_Screw_ this.

Grumbling under her breath, Maggie shoved him away one final time before moving clear across the couch and, more importantly, _away from him._ She held a death-grip on the remote as she switched to cartoons, making sure to find a show she just _knew_ he would hate. If he had to be here, she sure as heck wasn't gonna make him comfortable!

Her quiet victory was cut short as Filkins, hands now in the pockets of his jacket, quickly but casually slid one leg, then his entire body across the length of the couch until they were practically hip-to-hip.

'Great,' she thought. 'Just great.'

He even rested an arm around the back of the couch for good measure, no doubt successfully creating the illusion that they were 'good buddies'.

Suck-up.

"Maggie! Terry! Dinner time!" Her mother called.

Maggie waited for Filkins to get up first, which took a good 10-15 seconds. She was SO not going to turn her back on him. As she followed him across the stairwell and into the dining room, Maggie realized that she finally knew his first name.

Terry. Huh.

* * *

To say dinner was awkward was an understatement. Maggie's father had called to say he was stuck in traffic and to eat without him. Which, of course, led to the awkward silence she was in now. She sat, fortunately, across from 'Terry', rather than next to him like she expected her mother to suggest.

_Unfortunately_, however, she was sitting next to her mother, who was no doubt planning to chew her ear off for being so 'rude' with him. Whatever. Thankfully, her mother ended the silence.

"Terry, would you like to say grace?"

Maggie's mouth nearly fell to the floor. Thankfully, she had more control than that. Grace? GRACE?! She _always_ said Grace, there was no way in _Hell_ that HE was going to say Grace! Oh, wait…never mind.

Terry, of course, with that faux-genuine smile on his faux-genuine face, replied in his faux-genuine voice: "Why, of course, Mrs. Lovelace."

And he bowed his head, along with Maggie's mom, who nudged her when she didn't do anything due to the utter shock of being cast aside for _this_ douche bag. She finally bowed her head, pausing when she saw 'Terry's' hand extended out to her.

She glanced over to see that her mother had already taken his other hand. Not only was he going to say Grace, he was going to initiate a _Prayer Circle too?!_ That conniving little –

"Maggie."

Her thoughts were interrupted by Claire's voice, her tone clearly irritated that she was holding them up. Maggie hesitantly took the hand that was offered to her, and since her eyes were the only ones still open, she was the only one who caught the triumphant smirk that adorned Terry's face as he squeezed her hand firmly, almost painfully.

_Buttwipe._

Finally, they commenced. "Dear Lord," He began, "we would like to thank you for this," – he paused for effect – "_wonderful_ feast," – Maggie rolled her eyes beneath her lids – "that Maggie's _wonderful_ mother prepared for us."

Her mom 'awwed' and blushed in that bashful way of hers. Maggie's eyes may have been closed, but she could totally see her mom wearing that 'oh, stop it' expression.

It made her sick.

Terry continued with Grace. "But most of all, dear Lord, we'd like to thank you for Maggie." Say _what?_ "For her kindness" – okay – "tolerance," – damn straight – "durability," – pfft. Wouldn't _he_ know – "strength," – Hell to the yes! – "and love," – something he had obviously never experienced, she was sure…wait, where was this going? – "But most of all, for her endurance." - … - "For her _astounding_ ability to take hit," – she _knew _it! – "after hit," – okay, that's quite enough – "after _hit_," – NOW he was pushing it – "and get knocked down," – she clenched his hand as a warning – "and get right back up," – that's better – "even though she knows she's just going to get knocked right back down again." – Operation: Death Grip underway – "And so we thank you, dear Lord, for _all_ of Maggie's _amazing_ qualities."

This had _better_ be the end of it.

"In God's name we pray."

Ugh, YES.

"Amen."

"Amen," she and her mother uttered.

"That was beautiful, Terry." WHAT?! _Surely_ she would've seen through that!

"You must know Maggie _very_ well!" She winked flirtatiously.

Maggie was going to puke. She was going to puke and she hadn't even eaten yet. _'Very well'?!_ He didn't know anything about her! She wasn't anything like that! …ESPECIALLY not that last part! URGH…

…Well…okay…maybe a little…a lot…alright, he had her right down to the feakin' _**T**_…er, never mind…but he still didn't know her!

"Thank you, Mrs. Lovelace." Terry replied, smiling.

"Oh, call me Claire!" Her mother said, nose crinkling as she smiled back.

A very long, awkward silence followed. Maggie stared at Terry, ready to jump into action the second he tried something. Terry stared back, hands fisted together under his chin, no doubt plotting some evil scheme. And her mother, mirroring Terry's pose, stared at the table.

"…Oh-_kay…"_ Claire said a bit awkwardly.

"Let's eat."

* * *

The rest of dinner went fairly smooth. Terry kept his hands and feet on _his_ side of the table, her mom didn't verbally berate her, and Maggie spent most of her mealtime stabbing at her mashed potatoes and pretending it was Filkin's stupid face.

The only hard part about supper was having to sit through overhearing her mom asking _question_ after _question_ after _question_ about Terry. Even worse, having to hear him answer.

"So, how are you?"

"I'm doing okay."

"Do I know your parents?"

"No, they're off on a business trip to China."

"_China?_ Wow…well, I'm sure they're wonderful people."

"They are."

"Mhm, so do you have a lot of classes with Maggie?"

"Yep, all subjects."

"Wow, you must be pretty smart, then, huh?"

"I try, haha."

"You know, Maggie was just below the valedictorian at her old school."

"Is that so?"

"Mhm! She was in Honor's classes and everything! Never could get a boyfriend, though…"

And this is the part where Maggie puts her foot down. "_Mom!_" She all but whined.

"Well, it's _true!"_ Claire countered.

"You know, Maggie's never really had a problem with acne or weight, so I never really understood why she never brought a boy home." She said to Terry, pointing her fork at him.

Oh, he was loving this. She just knew it. Maggie sunk in her seat in shame. She wished dad would get here…

"Reeeaaallly?" Terry asked, shifting his gaze from Claire to her. "I never would've guessed." He finished in a tone that was meant to be surprised, but came to Maggie's ears in a way that clearly translated to: _Loser._

"Yep." Said her mother, lacing her fingers together and staring at Maggie lovingly. Aaaaand cue the awkward silence.

…

…

…

"Oh-KAY!" Claire clapped her hands together, and both Maggie and Terry jumped slightly.

"Who's ready for dessert?"

* * *

Maggie helped her mother clear the table, making multiple trips to and from the kitchen. Terry offered to help but Claire had blown it off and said, 'Oh, you don't have to worry about it!'

Pssh.

Finishing her last trip to the kitchen, Maggie waited by the sink for her mother. When she came trotting into the room, she immediately asked:

"So, what's for dessert?"

"We," Claire paused to start the dishwasher, "are having," she sauntered over to the counter space behind Maggie, placing a hand atop the cover of a cake platter, "_this!"_ She dramatically pulled off the cover to reveal a strawberry shortcake, but a fancy one, not the lame kind you make real quick when you need something fast for guests that are coming over soon.

She had to say, it looked…pretty nice.

"Now," Her mother began, slicing off 3 pieces for Maggie, Terry, and herself, "Take these in there. But remember, Terry's our guest so he gets the first piece." As she finished putting the last piece onto an empty plate, her mother gasped. "Oh! I completely forgot. Hold on, I need to ask Terry something." And she all but ran out of the room.

Now was her chance.

Taking a quick glance at the doorway to see if her mother was coming back, Maggie grabbed a pair of scissors lying on the counter and held out a few single strands of hair. She then proceeded to cut her hair, slicing it off into tiny pieces, making sure to let it sprinkle onto Terry's slice of cake.

It was actually a salon technique called 'dusting'. Her mother taught it to her, of course. The point was to cut off split ends without losing any hair length. When you were done cutting, it would look like a small pile of dust on the floor, or, in this case, strawberry seeds.

'_There, almost done.'_ She thought. '_Just one final touch…'_

Glancing once again at the doorway, Maggie leaned over Terry's slice of cake, waited for her saliva glands to speed up, and let her spit drizzle onto the strawberry icing. It was transparent icing, like the jelly inside toaster strudels. He wouldn't notice.

When she was done, she grabbed a spoon from the nearby utensil drawer and used the back of it to spread it around.

She then licked the spoon clean – hey, it was _her_ spit – and tossed it into the sink. It was then that Claire walked back in, laughing over something Terry had said.

"Okay, he's not allergic to strawberries!" Like _that_ was the most important piece of information in the entire universe.

"Okay, honey, I'll take these in." Whoops. Time to intervene.

"No, mom," Maggie said, taking Terry's and her plates from her hands.

"I'll do it."

Apparently she had said it a bit too enthusiastically, because her mother eyed her suspiciously before letting her go ahead of her. When she walked back out into the dining room, Terry was leaning back in his chair, hands resting on the table, his innocent mask in place, looking expectantly at her. She should've guessed he'd stay for dessert.

Mooching food-grubber.

As Maggie set his plate down in front of him, she made sure to hide the smirk that was begging to come to her face. Instead, she frowned, furrowed her brows together, and glared at him. She couldn't have him thinking she sabotaged his food now, could she?

And besides, he was obviously getting a kick out of her playing 'waitress'. He wouldn't suspect a thing.

'_Let them eat cake,'_ She thought smugly.

Once the silverware was in place, Maggie and her mother sat back down.

"Okay, everybody," Claire announced, "Dig in!"

And so they ate.

For a while there was no conversation, just the sounds of eating and munching and forks hitting plates. Of course, with Terry that didn't last long.

"This cake is really good, Claire." Maggie couldn't help but smile ruefully as she bit into her piece. Luckily, it went unnoticed.

"Thank you, Terry! I found a recipe in my family's cookbook." Came her reply.

"I don't think it's sweet enough, though." She added.

Yeah, she'd have to agree there. It was good, but kinda bland. "No, I think it's perfect." Terry said, taking another bite. "I think it's _really_ sweet." He swallowed. "And flavorful."

Yeeeaaah, she'd eaten a few Jolly Ranchers before dinner.

"Oh. Well thanks, Terry, I'm glad you like it." Her mother said.

'_So am I…'_ Maggie thought evilly.

* * *

When Terry (finally) decided to leave, Maggie was elated. SO elated, in fact, that she held the door for him to leave.

"You could stay longer if you want." Her mother offered.

"No, I'm afraid I can't, Mrs. Lovelace. I gotta get back." Wow. He wasn't putting up a fight or anything.

Just as he was walking out the door, Terry turned around and held his arms out.

"Bye, Maggie." He said in an irritatingly sweet voice.

In Maggie's opinion, forcing someone to hug their sworn enemy was one of the worst things you could do to a person. And it was happening to her.

"Maggiiiieee," Her mother urged in a sing-song voice through clenched teeth.

Hesitantly, ever so hesitantly, Maggie stepped forward. When Terry motioned with his arms, blatantly refusing to meet her half-way, she took another step forward, and another and another, until she was standing awkwardly between his arms.

She took one last breath before her oxygen supply was depleted as his arms clamped down around her stout frame. She half-expected him to whisper something threatening in her ear, but he didn't, which surprised her. No, he just hugged her extremely tight, and let go.

Maybe it was because her mom was around.

He waved goodbye to her and her mom, and, _finally,_ left.

"Well, he was nice." Her mother commented.

"_No. _He _i__sn't," _Maggie corrected under her breath. Unfortunately for her, her mother had heard her. The thing about Claire was that she seemed to have superhuman hearing. Even if you were whispering clear across the room she could somehow still hear you.

"What do you mean?" Her mother inquired, walking into the kitchen to clean off their plates. Maggie followed her through the dining room, and as her mom began to wash the dishes, Maggie told her about everything he had done, both to herself and to other kids, like Emmit. As she finished ranting, her mother just stood there, shell-shocked, holding a plate while she dried it off. Her expression suddenly went from shocked to stone-cold.

And then she forcefully dropped the plate she was holding, letting it shatter to the floor.

It wasn't uncommon for Maggie's mom to break things, at least not when she was upset. Whenever she was angry, Claire would break whatever happened to be in her hands, which was usually a dish of some sort. And after she broke something she would _always_ go on a rant. So of course, Maggie knew what was coming _now._

"Perfect," Her mother began angrily. "I just let a delinquent into my house. And you _know _he'll come back. What if he comes back when we're not home? He could rob us! And you _know _that piece of cake wouldn't have gone to waste! And did you say it was HIM that put that gum in your hair? I'll go over there _right now_ and _kick his –"_

"Hi, honey! I'm hooome!"

Aaaand that would be her dad. He was funny like that, showing up at the best of times.

"Honey?" Robert called. Maggie and her mother waited for him to find his way into the kitchen. "Oh, hey. There you are." He walked up to ruffle his daughter's hair and kiss his fuming wife.

Eventually he started to get the feeling that there was something wrong.

"Aaaarre you guys okay?" He asked. Maggie looked at the floor and her mother sighed. _No,_ everything was _not_ 'okay'.

"Oh hey; cake!"

* * *

After her dad got home, Maggie trudged upstairs to her room and plopped down on the bed. She didn't bother shutting the door; she knew at least one of her parents would be up to talk to her soon about 'Terry'. It was kind of ironic, really. At her old school, she was always the one to defend those that were being bullied; and now she was being bullied herself.

Haha. Ha.

_Ha._

Maggie glanced to her left, where she had tossed Alexandria's bag in the corner. She still hadn't been able to find that girl...Was she avoiding her or something? Was she sick? Did she move? Did she get hit by a car? Did she just not care about it? Did she- _Okay, that's enough of that,_ Maggie stopped herself.

She'd look – no, she'd FIND – her Monday.

As she lay on her back staring at the ceiling, Maggie's mind naturally wandered to other things. Things like food, and…t.v. And school. And…urgh…_Terry._

As she recapped the evening's events, Maggie was amazed to find that he didn't really do anything 'wrong' per se…Except the hand thing, but that wasn't really 'hurting' anything, just annoying.

As she went through all of the possible reasons he hadn't tried anything, her mother walked in. "Hey." She greeted, sitting down on the bed. "Hey," Maggie sighed, not looking away from the ceiling.

"…Look," her mother started. "I know I _probably_ don't have to tell you this, but _I'm gonna tell ya anyway_." She took a deep breath. "NOW, I know that kid's a total bully, but I'm sure you two have SOME things in common." She paused, letting Maggie take it in.

_What?_ She wanted her to try and be 'friends' with that jerk? Her mother continued. "And I'm sure you could find some common ground with each other." She suggested.

Maggie turned her head to give her mother a look that said 'are you _serious?'_ "Now, now, hear me out," Claire put her hands up. "You should try to be friends with him. _Try, _that's all I'm saying. And when you gain his trust-"

"Mom, I don't think you-"

"_When you gain his trust,"_ Her mother continued, "Crush. Him." Maggie stared at her in disbelief. She needed confirmation on this. "Are you _serious?_"

Her mother leaned back, nodding her head. "_Hayl_ tuh dah yay-us!" She exclaimed, earning a laugh from Maggie.

"He took my food! I spent 3 _hours_ putting all that together; we coulda had _leftovers!"_ She paused to laugh herself, "And plus, with all that crap he did to you? Of COURSE we expect you to get that little bastard!"

Maggie was surprised. "Soooo you talked this over with dad?"

"Yep." Her mother replied, putting her hands on her hips and holding her head high, smirking triumphantly.

"And we _both_ agreed…that you should kick his ass." They both chuckled.

"Hey, if you don't, I will." Claire warned playfully. "Besides, I asked him his age, and he's 18. Isn't that great? Even if you _did_ get into a fight he'd be the one in trouble because you're a minor. So, ha!"

He was 18? Wow, he must've failed a grade…but then, how was he in all her classes…? _Probably born late into the year, _her mind reasoned. Maggie sat up, swinging her legs over the top of the bed to face her mother.

"Uh…thanks, mom. That…actually really helps." She smiled. Her mother scrunched her face up playfully.

"You _go, _baby." And with those final words, she went downstairs.

Maggie chuckled again. It always cracked her up when her mom cussed. Whether it was because it sounded so right or it sounded so _wrong_, she wasn't sure. Her parents always did the exact opposite of what 'normal' parents would do, and God knew she was glad to have them…or rather, she was glad they had _her_…or whatever.

As she fell back down onto her bed, Maggie contemplated what her mother had told her. Be friends with him? Nah, it was too late for that. Beat 'em up? Sure, but she hadn't told her mom about Terry's 6'2" friend 'Ronnie'. But then again, he hadn't tried anything today, so maybe being friends wasn't so far-fetched. Maybe it would happen. Heck, maybe they could be _great_ friends. Maybe –

Maggie's expression turned from thoughtful to disgusted as she pulled out a piece of gum from the back of her head.

Never mind.

**A/N: Yep, Terry's a jerk. But don't worry, Maggie'll eventually win him over...or something like that.**

**I'm starting to realize why so many writers on here never finish their stories, all this typing is tough! This chapter alone ended up being 11 pages long D:**

**But don't worry, I WILL finish this, and unlike most people that say it, I MEAN it :D**

**Oh, and when Claire broke the dish? Yeah, I got that from watching Twilight :P**

**I wasn't originally going to have Terry come over on Maggie's weekend off, because that's so cliché, but then I got the funny idea of him saying Grace. Plus, this whole story's pretty much **cliché,** so what's one more notch in the stick?**

**Oh, and in case you couldn't understand '**_**Hayl**_** tuh dah yay-us', it roughly translates to: Hell to the yes. Yes? XD**

**I know Maggie's mom is a little weird, but I just didn't want her to be like all the ****other 'stereotypical' moms. I still don't really like how her character turned out ****though :/**

**Now, I'm not really a fan of cussing, but to stay true to the movie's universe, it's gonna be in there, especially when we get to Filkin's POV. Just saying :P**

'**Till next time.**


	4. Assigned

**A/N: in THIS chapter: Maggie's weekend goes great, she finally manages to track down the mysterious 'Alexandria', and Maggie gets a special 'assignment' from principal Doppler.**

**Disclaimer: Do not own Drillbit Taylor.**

Chapter 4: Assigned ~

The rest of Maggie's weekend went great. She half-expected Filkins to show up Saturday and Sunday, but apparently he had better things to do.

_'Good_ _for_ him,' she thought snootily…wait, was that even a word? Never mind.

Today was Monday (obviously) and Maggie was determined to track down the elusive 'Alexandria'. She searched the halls as she walked to History class, but just like the last 5 days of school, she found nothing…well, she found a penny, but that wasn't important.

Deciding to wait until lunch (she'd _have_ to come across her there, if nowhere else), Maggie walked into Mr. Dunbar's class. Terry was there, of course, rolling a pencil between his lips, looking pretty bored. She nearly laughed when his face immediately brightened the second she walked in the door.

It was like watching a human light bulb.

Maggie mentally mocked him for his apparent boredom as she made her way to her seat. _Oh, no, I don't have anyone to mess with!_ When she sat down, she noticed something was amiss.

Where was Ronnie?

"Okay, class, today we're going to talk about Custer's Last Stand," Mr. Dunbar began. Maggie had already learned about this at her old school, but listened anyway. At least, she tried to, but with Mr. Dunbar's poor presentation, she quickly lost interest.

…Hey. She just realized something. Terry wasn't pulling her hair. It must have been too short for him to reach.

Sweet.

Maggie fancifully imagined him trying to make a grab for her hair, only to emerge unsuccessful due to his own doings. As she began losing herself in LaLa Land, she was (unfortunately) brought back to reality by the Devil Himself.

"Hey," he whispered, leaning over his desk to reach her. "Here's your pencil back." He reached over her shoulder to place the offending object on her desk. Confused, Maggie looked it over. Yep. It was her pencil, alright.

And it had teeth marks in it.

And it was wet.

And she didn't have a spare.

Smirking subtly, Filkins leaned back in his chair. Maggie stared at it for a second before hesitantly picking it up, rolling it in the folds of her jacket to dry it off.

She couldn't _wait _until lunch.

* * *

Despite the ever-present feeling that time had slowed down, lunch finally came. As Maggie moved along the lunch line, she spotted Emmit 3 spaces down. He was rambling happily about who-knows-what as he placed a pudding on his tray, apparently talking to those two kids from before. She had learned their names were Wade and Ryan, but that Ryan liked to be called 'T-dog'. She idly wondered where he got that from.

It sounded cool, but not original. Hmm…

Maggie grabbed a chocolate pudding, paid for her food, and turned to find a seat. It was nice out, maybe she would eat outside. Just then, she spotted Alexandria. YES! FINALLY! She watched as the tall blonde quickly walked out of the cafeteria.

Okay, that's it. She was eating outside.

As she began walking in Alexandria's general direction, Maggie stopped when she saw Ronnie. She watched as he practically stalked out into the sunlight, obviously following the poor girl. Was that why he wasn't in class? Was he bullying Alexandria? Maggie quickened her pace, trying to keep her food from tipping over in the process.

It didn't take her long to find them. I mean, come on, how many giants hung out with blonde emos? Maggie observed them from afar. From the looks of things, they were just talking, but it must've been a touchy subject, judging from the way Alexandria was leaning away from him with an expression that made it seem like it was physically painful to be talking to him.

Ronnie, not surprisingly, sat next to her with _zero _space between them.

She thought about intervening, but someone beat her to it. She watched as Terry, of all people, stalked up to Ronnie and cut his and Alexandria's 'conversation' short. The two exchanged a few short words and Ronnie looked to Alexandria before hesitantly getting up and following Terry.

Now was her chance.

Maggie sauntered up to the blonde, who noticed she was coming toward her and immediately looked down at the table and angled her body away, pretending not to see her. Maggie ignored this and walked up to her.

"Hey," she greeted cheerily, forcefully setting down her tray and sitting across from her on the bench. She had spent an entire _week_ tracking this chick down. She was _not _getting away. Alexandria didn't answer. Maggie had expected this, so she cut straight to the chase.

"I have your bag." She said, and the girl's blonde head looked up at her. "It's in my locker. You should probably come get it since I can't fit my nun-chucks in there anymore."

Alexandria just stared. Clearly, she didn't get the joke.

"...I'll give it to you after class." Maggie said, awkwardly taking a sip out of her juice box.

After a few moments of staring weirdly at her, Alexandria nodded. "Okay."

Maggie nodded back. "Okay."

And they ate their food in silence.

* * *

After Maggie had suffered through all of her classes (and Terry) she walked to her locker only to find Alexandria already there waiting for her. How did she know where her locker was…? Maggie walked up to her locker, put in the combination, carelessly swung the door open, and, heaving out the book bag, handed it over to the blonde standing, somewhat cautiously, next to her.

"Thanks," she said in an airy voice. "No problem." Maggie replied.

"Um, Maggie?"

She turned around at the sound of her name, coming face-to-face with Ms. Zachey, her English teacher.

"Principal Doppler would like to see you in his office." She smiled.

Principal Doppler? But she didn't do anything…

"Okay, thanks." Maggie smiled politely. Ms. Zachey nodded before walking off.

Turning back to Alexandria, Maggie sighed. "Well, I gotta go…" The girl nodded. "Okay."

"See you around" Maggie said, backing away.

"Bye." Alexandria gave a small wave. Maggie smiled before turning around and walking off…in the _general_ direction of Principal Doppler's office.

She'd find it eventually.

* * *

When she made it to the Principal's office, Maggie didn't know what to expect. She hadn't done anything wrong, that much she was sure of. It had to have been something else. She just couldn't figure out what.

So, when Maggie pushed the door open to find her Math teacher standing alongside Principal Doppler and _Terry_ sitting comfortably in one of the two seats facing Doppler's desk, she couldn't be more confused.

When she didn't come in immediately, Doppler addressed her and said, "Maggie, please, sit down." Looking from the Principal to Terry, she hesitantly let go of the door handle and sat in the chair next to her archenemy, not bothering to look at him as she did so.

"Mr. Richardson here tells me that you're very good at math." Doppler began, motioning towards her Math teacher, who waved. "Yeeeeaaah…" Maggie replied hesitantly. What was going on, here? Doppler continued. "And I'm also told that you were second only to the valedictorian at your previous school."

"That's right." Terry must have told them that.

"And, as you may know, Terry here is…not doing so well."

"Oh…kaaaay…"

"What I'm getting at, here, is this: if Terry," he pointed at Filkins, "doesn't get his grades up, he's gonna be suspended."

Well shoot, that was music to her ears! "So…what do you need me for?" Though she feared she already knew the answer. "I'm going to assign you to him for the rest of the semester. That should be plenty of time for him to improve his grades."

She was flabbergasted. "Wha-_what?!_"

"I want you to be his tutor." The only thing missing from that sentence was 'duh'.

Maggie whipped her head around, her hair smacking Filkins in the face, and looked at him in disbelief. Filkins, who was now nursing his left eye, looked innocent as ever.

This was a losing battle.

Good thing she didn't care.

"Principal Doppler, I _really_ don't think I'm fit to –"

"Nonsense, you're the best we have here!" he complimented.

"Besides, I looked into your file and I noticed you don't have any after-school activities; _plenty _of time to whip this young boy into shape!" He said cheerfully, eyes crinkling.

Maggie was silent for a few moments. She weighed her options, only to find that she had none. Principal Doppler rested his hands on his desk and leaned over, waiting for her answer. "…So whaddaya say?"

Sucking up every ounce of pride and dignity and self-worth she had, Maggie answered, "I…I would love to." _Man_, that was hard to get out. She even smiled for good measure.

"_Excellent!"_ Doppler exclaimed as he smacked his desk, causing her to jump.

Maggie was no idiot.

She knew she was cute. With her pale skin, curly brown hair, and soft blue eyes, she knew she could charm the teachers, just like Terry could. In fact, she had been asked out plenty of times, and had even been invited to sit with many-a-popular clique, but she had always turned them down. She just wasn't like that.

"Alright," Principal Doppler announced happily, "You can go."

Maggie got up and walked to the door, only to be stopped by Filkins, who opened it and held it for her. She scoffed at him and passed through, followed closely by a smirking Terry. Just before they reached the school's entrance, Maggie turned around, Filkins nearly knocking into her.

_"Look,"_ she said, irritated. "I don't know what you're thinking –"

"Pfft. _Obviously."_ He interrupted.

Taking a breath to calm herself, Maggie resumed. "But I plan on following through with this. You're GOING to pass, whether you like it or not." She finished coldly. Filkins laughed. "Oooh, you're not gonna_ fail_ me, are you, Ms. Lovelace?" He mocked, waving his hands in front of him.

"I don't think I could _take _it." He held a hand over his heart.

Maggie simply rolled her eyes. "It's _not _funny." She said icily. He merely tried to keep from smiling. She rolled her eyes again.

"I'll be in the library tomorrow after school." She explained. At his nonchalant expression, she added, "_Be _there."

And with that, she walked out to catch the bus, her threat still hanging in the air.

**A/N: JUST so you know, the part when Maggie was joking with Alexandria and she didn't get it? You know, 'It's in my locker. You should probably come get it since I can't fit my nun-chucks in there anymore**'**? Yeah, that was a quote from Napoleon Dynamite. Just saying. **

**In case you were wondering (because I know I do) this chapter was the equivalent of 5 pages in Microsoft Word :D**

**'Till next time.**


	5. Pause

**A/N: in THIS chapter: Terry actually shows up for tutoring (omg!), Maggie and Terry have a little spat, and Terry blows off steam...oh, and we finally get to see Terry's POV.**

**Disclaimer: I do not (nor ever have) own(ed) Drillbit Taylor. Or TapOut. Or Teflon. Or Happy Meals. Or google :P**

Chapter 5: Pause~

When Maggie strode into the library after school the next day, she didn't expect to be there long.

She greeted the librarian behind the main counter to her left, then proceeded to find a place to sit. It was a fairly nice school library. There were about 10 or so large rectangular tables in the middle of the room, with seats all around each one, and book aisles placed around the sides and back.

There was hardly anyone there (why would there be when you could just use google?) Maggie walked up to the nearest table, sat down, and started to set up. She didn't expect him to come - hence the 'not expecting to be there long' - but she figured she might as well.

At least she could blame him if she was ready to go and he didn't show up, and rightfully so.

Pulling out her workbook, textbook, and some scrap paper from her book bag, Maggie placed them messily about her side of the table. She then took out a few pencils and erasers. Great. Now all she had to do was wait...

And wait...

And wait...

And wait...

...and wai- okay, he's obviously not coming.

As Maggie bunched up her pencils and started to put them away, Terry walked in. He didn't bother to greet the librarian as she had - didn't even acknowlege her presence, really - as he waltzed in like he owned the place. He took his sweet time making his way over to her, too.

_Flubber._

When he finally reached her, he grabbed the seat next to hers, recklessly (and quite loudly, she might add) spun it around, and sat down, resting his arms and chin on the back of the chair. He even angled it towards her to appear as if he was actually going to pay attention.

Wow.

"I've been waiting for-" Maggie whipped her head towards the clock above the library's entrance. Call it OCD, but she had to have the exact time.

"47 minutes." She finished, glaring accusingly at him.

Terry stared boredly at her. "Got held up at the principal's office."

She scoffed at him. Didn't surprise her. Not one bit. Running a hand through her hair, Maggie sighed, annoyed. "Whatever. So, you ready? Where are your books?" Terry stared at her, brows furrowed. "Pfft. You're the tutor. Didn't _you_ bring 'em?"

She nearly slapped him upside the head. Seriously! He was so insufferable!

She was just itching right now to cross the small distance between them and just..._hurt_ him. Physically hurt him. Badly. He was doing this on purpose, he just had to be. He was _trying_ to get on her nerves.

Well, she was one step ahead of him.

So, rather than lose her cool, Maggie replied with a grin,

"As a matter of fact, I _did._"

She was so glad she was smart enough to have considered this beforehand.

Gingerly, she reached down and dug an extra notebook out of her bag, reveling in Terry's somber expression as his eyes followed the no doubt foreign object as it was placed on the table.

"Anything else?" She smirked.

"Yeah, you got any gum?" He asked smartly.

Under normal circumstances, there would be no way in _Hell _ that she would let him anywhere _near_ a stick of gum, but she figured it might help him pay attention if he was happy. Sort of. Sort of happy. Not all the way.

Rolling her eyes, Maggie dug into the pocket of her jacket and tossed him a piece of mint-flavored gum.

"Okay, you ready?"

"Yyyyep."

"Alright, what are you stuck on?"

As the seconds passed, Maggie wondered if he was even going to answer, when suddenly he leaned back, repositioned himself in his chair so he was more comfortable, and, in a heaving sigh, answered, "Converting."

Well that certainly didn't give anything away.

"Okay...converting what?"

"Slope-intercept." He sighed again, but more dramatically this time, running his hands through his hair.

Jeez, he hadn't been here 8 minutes and he was already acting like a spoiled child. Maggie sighed again.

This was gonna take a while...

* * *

Over the next few days, as she attempted to explain one of the simplest (in her opinion) facets of geometry, Maggie learned a number of things about Filkins:

First, he had some sort of psychological _need_ to be at the head of the table (which she had blindly but luckily chosen).

Second, he also felt the need to write with pens (which she had luckily brought), as he 'didn't like the scratch of pencils'.

Third, he couldn't keep his mouth closed for more than 6 minutes at a time. She knew, she had timed it.

Fourth, he was seemingly incapable of keeping his entire body still; he had to move _something._ And so of course it wasn't long before he took hold of one of her many strands of hair and, rather than paying attention, began randomly twirling it around his fingers.

She would have objected to this, she knew he was just doing it to annoy her, but kept her mouth shut on account that he wasn't actually _hurting_ anything, and that it would be best not to remind him of the utter absence of pain on her end from his actions.

And fifth, he had..._trouble_...concentrating. She had to repeat every sentence at least twice around him. And it was downright annoying.

They ended up staying for an hour and a half today before decided to call it quits. "Okay, I think that's enough for today." She sighed, frustrated.

She was obviously more exhausted than he was.

She stared at all the random scribbles on the page in front of her, her cheek resting in her palm, and thought about all the progress they _hadn't_ made. She tried to think of a way to get him motivated, all the while oblivious to Terry as he boredly flipped and twirled and twisted that same strand of hair he had started with an hour and a half ago.

She was slowly brought back to reality by a repeated tugging on said strand. Sighing once again, Maggie swatted his hand away, packed up her things, and stood up.

She didn't bother waiting for Filkins as she exited the library, called her mom, and waited outside on the school steps for her to pick her up.

* * *

It went on like this for a little less than a week. Maggie would set up at the library in the same spot every day after school, wait for Terry, try to explain something to him as he chewed bubblegum and messed with her hair, get frustrated, pack up, leave, and get ready to do it all over again the next day.

It was very 'wash, rinse, and repeat'.

She wasn't sure how much more of this she could take, and today would be no different.

Or so she thought.

It started out like it always did; she set up, waited for him to come and sit down and give her a reasonable but totally untrue excuse as to why he was 20 minutes late, blah blah blah.

But just as she was about to open her mouth and get started, he asked, in a quite negative tone, "What the hell's up with your hair?"

WOW.

He actually noticed a cosmetic change? _lol, maybe he's- _she cut that thought off before it even started.

...Hey.

So he could focus long enough to notice she'd put her hair up, but not long enough to do a simple math problem?

Pssh.

"I put it up." She replied in a 'duh' tone.

His brows knit together. "Why?"

Oh my gosh. Was that even a _question?_

"Because it's a distraction, and you need to focus." She said, impatient.

He scoffed in response. "Well you should take it out. It looks awful."

It wasn't the words themselves that caused Maggie to nearly choke on her own spit. It was the way he had said them, like it was as common as asking about the weather. He didn't regret saying anything, didn't feel sorry. And he _certainly _didn't apologize.

He just stared at the table, looking bored. Like nothing had even happened.

...Well.

Two can play at this game, sir.

"Well, you should take that rod out of your ass. Maybe you'll be nicer."

It took everything she had not to laugh at his shocked expression as he twisted his head to look at her.

_Weren't expecting _that _now, were you?_

In spite of the utter pride she felt at being able to beat Filkins at his own game, Maggie also knew that what she had just said could not be reversed.

It could only escalate from there.

"You know what, why don't you-"

"Shh!"

He was interrupted by the librarian. Terry gave the old woman a glare before turning back to Maggie. In a hushed voice, he shot back, "Why don't you slip into something more comfortable? Like a _coma._"

See?

"Why don't _you _get a refund for your birth?" She whispered back.

There was no going back now.

"Well _you _must have been born on a highway, because that's where most accidents happen."

It was on.

"You know what, you're so immature I bet you needed a ladder to reach puberty."

"You're calling _me_ short? Please, you could bungee jump off a _curb._"

"You wanna know why these tutoring sessions have been taking so long? Because your _brain_ is like Teflon; _NOTHING sticks!_"

"You know, I actually thought about you _all day _yesterday."

"Oh, _really?_"

"Yeah. I was at the zoo."

"Coming from the guy who's about as smart as an ape."

"You know what, how'd you even get _in _here? Did someone leave your _cage_ open?"

"Did someone leave your _head _open? 'Cause I think your brain just fell out."

"You know, I'm honestly curious, did it _hurt_ when you fell from the Ugly Tree and hit every branch on the way down?"

"_Me? Ugly? _I would _love _to see things from your point of view but I just can't seem to stick my head _that far _up my ass."

"Get off my planet, savage beast!"

"Touchy, aren't we? You want me to run over to the store real quick and grab you a tampon?"

"If I wanted a _bitch_ I would've bought a dog."

"And if I wanted a _prick _I would've hugged a cactus."

They were standing up now, both invading each other's personal space and trying their hardest to glare the other down. Their 'whisper fight' had escalated in both seriousness and volume, earning a rather loud "SHH!" from the librarian, but they didn't acknowledge her. Terry spoke again.

"You know what, if you were on _fire, _and I had a glass of water in my hand? I would _drink it. That's_ how much I hate you right now." He snarled, but Maggie only smirked.

"_Someone's _a few fries short of a Happy Meal."

He laughed mirthlessly. "Speaking of food, what'd you have for breakfast this morning? _Bitch Flakes?_"

"No, I passed them up for Sucky Charms."

"Why don't you just move away to _Smallville?_"

"Why don't _you _move to China with your parents? I'm sure they'd love to see you." She paused, pretending to think. "Oh, wait.._.no they wouldn't_."

Maggie knew she had struck a nerve. But like most people who are angry and caught up in the moment, she didn't give it a second thought as the words left her mouth.

Terry stood only a few inches away from her face, fuming. His shoulders heaved, his nostrils flared, and if she weren't so angry herself, Maggie would have been frightened.

"...You know what, _screw _you. I'm outta here." He backed away a few steps before turning around and stalking out of the library, leaving her to stand staring after him, glaring holes into the stupid TapOut logo on his stupid jacket, rooted in her spot.

Maggie stood there a few moments, relieved he was out of her face, and likewise, that she was out of his presence. When she looked up, she saw a skinny girl with a messy auburn bun half-hiding in a nearby aisle, staring at her wide-eyed. She immediately looked away as soon as they made eye contact, vanishing into one of the aisles.

Guess they weren't as quiet as she thought.

After sitting back down and mulling over what had just occurred between Terry and herself, Maggie finally decided to pack up and leave.

As she pulled out her cellphone to text her mom, she couldn't help but think about how _silly _it all was. How stupid. And pointless. And dumb...

She let out one final huff as she left the library.

All because of a _stupid _bun.

* * *

After he had left Maggie in the library, Terry made his way out to the school's parking lot. He decided to leave his Mustang, as he thought it was far too cramped to air out his anger at the moment. Instead, he opted to walk home. He could use some fresh air, anyway.

Pulling his hood up, Terry stuffed his hands into his pockets and started walking.

Along the way, he mulled over everything that had happened between Maggie and himself, and, being as stubborn and angry as he was, mentally cursed her for the first 5 minutes home.

I mean, _damn! _All he _said _was...

...wait, what _did _he say? He couldn't remember.

Arguments did that to you.

...Well anyway, it wasn't anything that called for..._that._

'_Bitch,' _He thought bitterly. He huffed out a puff of air, watching as it appeared in front of him in the form of a cold and unforgiving cloud that practically smacked him in the face because he was walking so fast.

He slowed his pace.

It was nearly October, and though the days were still fairly warm, the nights got pretty chilly...did he just say 'chilly'? _Chicks _said chilly. _Maggie_ said chilly. He growled, irritated with himself. _Cold, _he corrected.

It got pretty _cold_ out. _Not_ chilly.

He continued walking.

...Oh, now he remembered! He said she needed to put her hair down because it looked terrible up. Or something like that. Which of course, was a lie.

If he was being completely honest with himself she actually looked pretty decent with that little half-bun-thing-whatever-it-was she had going on. He just liked it better down...er, so he could pull at it and irritate the crap out of her, of course.

...Wait, _liked it better down? Liked?!_

Kill that thought. He didn't _like _her. And she didn't like him.

I mean sure, she was cute and all, but he'd be damned if he was gonna fall for the school midget.

I mean God, she was just so annoying! With her little know-it-all attitude and her stupid munchkin face, not to mention her 'holier than thou' act.

Besides.

Even if he _did_ \- and he was admitting to nothing - she definitely hated his guts right now, anyway. And knowing women, probably for a few weeks after that. Whatever.

By now, Terry was only a couple blocks away from home.

Wow.

That walk didn't do _anything _to help his anger issues.

Just then, he noticed someone walking his way. A teenager, around his age, probably headed to or from a party by the looks of it. It _was _Friday, after all. As they came closer, Terry recognized him as one of his classmates.

And whaddaya know, he was pretty scrawny.

Not as scrawny as that Wade kid he and Ronnie had been messing with, but still. He was skinny. And Terry was mad.

Perfect.

He needed to blow off some steam...

* * *

Maggie stared out of the window of her parent's BMW as her mother drove her home. Nothing too interesting, just a bunch of street lights, trash cans, barking dogs, and the occasional night-prowler.

Oh, and Prince.

That was what they were listening to.

Well, what her _mom_ was listening to. Maggie just sort if tuned it out.

When they were about 2 blocks away from their house, Maggie noticed an oddly-shaped trash bag lying on the sidewalk. But it looked weird. It wasn't made of plastic and it was far too big. In fact, it was almost like...

_'No way,' _she thought.

Her eyes widened as she realized it was a person. A man. Wearing a black hoodie with some kind of logo written on the back. In fact, it looked very similar to...her mouth fell open.

It was the TapOut logo. The same one she had tried to glare a hole into at the library.

It was that idiot Terry.

Maggie had noticed that Terry's car was still in the parking lot when they left, but she didn't think anything of it. As her mom finished the lyrics to 'Uptown', Maggie contemplated what to do.

On the one hand, it served him right to finally get a dose of his own medicine.

On the other, it was pretty cold out.

He could catch pneumonia.

_Could._

Besides, his heart was already frozen anyway.

He would be fine.

Her mother pulled into the driveway, shut off the radio (thank God) and got out, Maggie following closely behind. Claire struggled a bit in the dark trying to find the house key, but eventually they made it inside.

When they walked in the door, Maggie relished in the happy atmosphere and warm glow the lights illuminating the stairwell and living room gave off.

And the heat. Heat was good.

Her happiness was soon replaced with guilt, however, when she thought back to outside. Back to _Terry._

As she watched her parents bustling around the house in an attempt to track down purses and watches and jackets (it was Friday, and they _always _went out on Fridays) she debated her options.

"Now, there's leftovers in the fridge if you wanna re-heat 'em. Oh, and don't forget your homework!" Her mother said as she put on her 'special occasion' jacket. Though Maggie was distracted, she didn't miss a beat in answering.

"Okay, mom."

Her dad came over to ruffle her hair, his left arm hanging outside his jacket. "See ya later, baby." He grinned before removing his hand to feed it through the sleeve of his dress coat and following his wife out the door.

"We'll be back by 10!" Claire called.

That was code for 'around one'. Her parents never could go out and just eat at a restaurant. Like normal people. No, they had to watch a movie, or go shopping, or 'conveniently' run into old friends and talk for 3 hours.

Or all of the above.

Maggie _would_ have rolled her eyes at that statement under normal circumstances, but the situation was too dire.

"Bye," She called back to them, just before her dad shut the door. They were such night-prowlers...

Anyway, back to business. Maggie stuffed her spare house key in her pocket, took out her hair tie, ran into the kitchen to see if anything was left on (her mother could be so forgetful), and, when she heard her parents leave, bolted out the door.

**A/N: I think this is my favorite chapter. Really, I do. Or maybe just one of my favorite scenes. The library one, anyway.**

** Oh, and JUST in case you were confused by the 'Lol, maybe he's-' thing**, **the word that came to Maggie's mind was 'gay'. Just saying. Lol.**

**I also hope you enjoyed all those snippy comebacks ;)**

**ALSO, I proofread this thing a bunch of times, but I also made a bunch of changes. So if you spot any typos, please tell me.**

**Sadly, we will be venturing into some seriously cliched territory in the next chapter. In my opinion. But that's as bad as it gets, I promise...well, I can think of another scene, but I'll leave that up to you to decide when we get there.**

**Besides, all fanfictions need a few cliche moments to bring the characters together (again, in my opinion), so**** bear with me.**

**'Till next time.**


	6. Care

**A/N: In THIS chapter: Maggie takes care of a less-than-grateful Terry. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Drillbit Taylor.**

Chapter 6: Care~

Maggie ran as fast as she could, feeling like she couldn't get to him fast enough. He was only two blocks away (funny, she could have sworn it was three) but it seemed like forever. Yeah, it was kinda silly, running like crazy to try and 'save' someone you hate- well, hate was a strong word..._immensely dislike_, but hey, blame her maternal instincts.

I mean, she still hated- _disliked_ him, but come on, she didn't want him to die. Yet.

She finally reached him. It was Terry, alright. Wearing that same stupid hoodie with that same stupid TapOut logo, lying in the same stupid position she had seen him in on the way home, and who, by the way, was still unconscious.

She knelt down and touched his hand.

It was cold. Very cold.

Not good.

Maggie then moved her hand up to his hood, pulling it off his head. Oooh, that looked like it hurt. She took in the black eye, split lip, and nasty gash that adorned his forehead._'Seems like an improvement to me.'_ she chuckled to herself.

Now she faced another dilemma. What was she supposed to do now? She hadn't really thought that far ahead. Should she take him to her place, or his? She could only imagine her parent's reactions if they came home to find a bloodied and bashed delinquent on their couch.

The very same deliquent that she 'hated'.

Her mind was made up. She would go to his house. Rolling him onto his back, Maggie searched his pockets for house keys.

Bingo.

She then proceeded to stand behind his head, bend down, hook her ams underneath his, and hoist him up as best she could. It wasn't that hard. If he were Ronnie she couldn't have done it, of course, but he wasn't Ronnie.

Ironically, it seemed faster on the way back. But maybe it was just because she was hurrying as fast as she could to get out of public. Anyone would probably think she was trying to hide a body, or kidnapping, or a crazy ex-girlfriend.

Or something.

When she made it to the front door of Filkin's house, she had to admit, it felt...wrong. Like she was breaking the law or something. Well...she supposed she kind of was breaking and entering, but she was practically saving a life, here! Surely that made it okay!

Maggie released an arm from underneath Terry's, trying every key on the goshdarn ring until she got to the one that worked, all the while Terry hanging awkwardly off her other arm. As she expected, it was the last key on the entire ring that opened the door. Flinging the door open, she tossed the keys carelessly inside and put her arm back underneath Filkin's armpit before her other arm gave way and she up and dropped him.

Dragging him inside, Maggie immediately began searching for a place to put him.

Dang, this place was nice.

She stopped to observe how clean the place was, especially considering he was a guy living by himself.

Spotting the staircase in front of her, Maggie considered taking him up to his room, but opted for the couch. It was closer. She placed him on the very nice (and expensive looking) sofa in the living room as gently as she could.

Man, he was freezing.

Yet another dilemma came up: where were the blankets in this place?

Maggie spent the next 9 minutes running around like a headless chicken, opening up cupboards and closets and boxes and baskets, feeling as wrong as ever snooping around someone else's house, searching for blankets. In her frustration, she went back to some of the places she had already looked.

Of course, she didn't find any.

Maggie realized that by now he was probably already warmed up (at least partially), but she was also so irritated and stubborn that she was at the point of no return.

She was going to find a blanket.

Whether he needed one or not.

And so, she searched and searched and searched, and searched some more. She was in Filkin's room, about to give up, when she saw it: a blanket. Sure, it was his bedsheets, but a blanket is a blanket.

Why hadn't she thought of this before?

As she looked over the covers, Maggie noticed how dirty they were. There were crumbs and food and...and some sort of stain that she didn't want to think too much about. It was probably just food, but...ugh.

Grabbing a handful of sheets, Maggie forcefully jerked them forward, only to have them get cought on a snag in the box spring. She yanked again, harder this time, but to no avail.

Of course, Maggie was too stubborn to just walk over and simply un-snag the sheet from its place, so she yanked again.

And again.

And again.

She gave one final yank and the covers broke free, the force of which caused her to fall on her butt in a tangle of sheets. Dully registering a _rip!_ sound as she hit the floor, Maggie paused for a moment in shock. Then, in a panic, wriggled as fast as she could out of the wretched fabric cocoon she had trapped herself in.

...Eeeewwwww, they smelled.

_'Gross.' _She stared at the bundle of germs at her feet. She didn't care how annoying or intolerable someone was, no one deserved to sleep in _those_ things.

Reluctantly picking the covers back up, Maggie put them back onto the bed, trying her best to make it look as though she were never there. Aside from the obvious tear, of course.

Heading back downstairs, Maggie returned to Terry, who was still laying unconscious on the couch.

Man, she had really worked up a sweat. And for someone that didn't even know what she was trying to do, too.

Pfft.

Maggie paused as she began to take off her oversized jacket.

Wait.

She was hot.

He was cold.

Dammit.

Pulling her jacket back on in an angry huff, she strode over to where Terry lay and, swallowing her pride, got down on her knees. Slowly and awkwardly, she wrapped her arms around Filkins, half-laying on him, getting a chill as soon as they made contact.

_'I hate myself,'_ She thought angrily as she lay her head on his chest.

After about a minute or so the awkwardness faded, and with nothing else to do, Maggie observed her surroundings. There was a coffee table in front of her with a pile of mail, an empty glass, and some futuristic-looking car magazines resting on it, and just beyond that a flat-screen t.v. that rested on a sleek black stand against the wall.

She couldn't help but notice the Xbox 360 Elite resting under the t.v. stand along with an open case of Grand Theft Auto IV.

_'Figures,'_ she thought, rolling her eyes.

Aaaand that was about it. From where she was sitting, anyway. Growing bored, Maggie focused on Terry's heartbeat. It seemed kind of fast, but maybe guy's hearts were just faster? He was warming up, and that was the important thing.

Then a thought hit her.

Pulling out her iPod Touch, Maggie opened her first-aid app. She skimmed over symptoms and warnings for pneumonia. A bit drastic, yes, but she might as well. I mean, _she_ didn't know how long he was out there.

Is the patient resting? Yes.

Does the patient smoke? Maggie lifted her face up and sniffed his breath. Nope.

Is the patient drinking plenty of water? Well no, but she'd see to that once he woke up. She tapped yes.

Is the patient coughing up mucus? Ew, she wasn't about to check. She tapped no.

Does the patient have cancer or AIDS? Did it count if the person _was_ a cancer? She toyed with the idea of saying yes for a second before tapping no.

Does the patient have a fever? She slapped a hand to his forehead. Nope.

Is the patient being kept warm? Maggie chuckled to herself, raising her eyebrows suggestively even though no one was around to see. She tapped yes.

The screen brought her to the conclusion that he was just cold, and (probably) didn't have pneumonia. _Aw, dangit,_ she joked silently to herself. Putting her iPod back inside her pocket, Maggie sighed.

And that was when she realized that Terry was awake.

* * *

When Filkins woke up, he was in his living room. Funny, he didn't remember going to sleep there. In fact, he didn't even remember getting home that night...oh well. He closed his eyes, still tired - and oh, so _very_ sore - and attempted to go back to sleep.

Dang, these were some warm covers...

...

...

Terry's eyes shot open as everything that had happened that day hit him like a ton of bricks. As he was having this epiphany, he noticed off-handedly that his blanket sighed...

Wait.

Wait wait wait wait wait...

Blankets didn't sigh.

Or breathe.

Or wrap their arms around you...OHMYGODHOLYSHIT!

Terry violently shook his 'covers' off of him and backed so far into the couch he nearly fell off its arm. As his eyes focused, he found that the perpetraitor was...Maggie?!

Okay, question time.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" He interrogated, yelling in panic.

Maggie, who was half-sitting, half-laying on the floor a mere 4 feet away, seemed just as shocked as he was, save for the blush in her...wait a second, why were her cheeks flushed? He briefly looked himself over, thankful to find all of his clothes still intact. He looked to her, eyes squinting.

"What the hell did you do?" He accused.

_"Nothing,_ I didn't do anything!" She held her hands up.

Terry looked around, finding everything exactly where it should - why the hell were all the cupboards open!?

He looked back at her, eyes wide, brows furrowed, and said, "Why the hell is everything open?"

Her face blanked. "It's not what you think-"

"The hell it isn't! You been stealing stuff?"

"No, I-"

"Empty your pockets, you little theif-"

"For your information," Maggie yelled over him, standing up. "I was _trying_ to find some blankets to warm your cold ass up!" When he didn't say anything she added, "I mean, what kind of _idiot_ doesn't have blankets in their house?!"

Terry looked at her for a second, then scoffed at her stupidity.

"They're in the dryer, you dope!"

"And how was I supposed to know that?"

"Um, you use your brain!"

"Well SO-RRY!"

"You know what? I don't need you here. Get out!"

Terry got up to toss her sorry ass out, but stopped when he realized just how much everything _hurt._ He cursed under his breath as he clutched his side, noticing Maggie smirking like the little minx she was as she crossed her arms.

"What were you saying about...not needing me?"

"Shut up." He barked, struggling to get up. He tried to stand up to his full height, but ended up tripping over his shoes and falling forward as Maggie rushed to catch him. "Look, you need to lay back down," she said, helping him back onto the couch.

"Hold on." She instructed. "I'll get you some water." And she disappeared, no doubt heading for the kitchen.

Terry hung an arm lazily over his head, trying to block out the light. He started to sigh, but stopped when he felt a sharp pain in his right side. He heard rustling coming from the kitchen, the sound of running water, a crash followed by a "DANGIT!", and the sound of a drawer opening, no doubt in search of a towel.

Terry smirked to himself. Maggie came in a few minutes later with a glass full of water and a sour look on her face. He immediately noticed the soaked spot on her pants, making it seem as if she wet herself.

"Aww, did little Maggie have an accident?" He cooed.

_"Shut up,"_ She barked, setting the glass on the coffee table with more force than necessary.

"...Hey, where did you say the dryer was?" She asked.

Terry took a sip of his water. "I _didn't._"

She huffed in annoyance. "Okay, well where is it?"

He had a smart retort on the edge of his lips, but due to the fact that he was temporarily crippled, kept it to himself. "In the basement." He sighed boredly. And with that, she left once more.

He expected her to come back like the annoying little flea she was and ask where exactly the basement was, but she didn't. In fact, she wasn't gone 10 seconds before he heard the basement door creak open.

She must have done more snooping than he thought...

Terry set his glass back on the table, putting a nearby coaster under it. His parents would kill him if they came home and found a bunch of cup rings on the stained wood. He turned his head, eyes landing on his 360. He was already bored and you can imagine how invitinng GTAIV was looking right at the moment, but the controller and t.v. remote were waaaaaayy over there, and he wasn't about to call for Maggie like some quadriplegic at a rest home.

So, he just stared at various objects lying around the house for an eternity, waiting for Maggie to emerge from the baseent.

She better not be messing with anything down there...

Just then, the girl in question appeared, a bundle of blankets in her arms. "Here." She said, holding out two blankets - a pink one and a blue one - for him to pick.

"Pff, I don't care." He said indifferently.

Rolling her eyes, Maggie picked the pink one, probably in an attempt to embarrass him, and none-too-gracefully spread it over him. As she walked away, he noticed something very different about her.

"...Where the hell are your pants?"

She turned to look at him, hand resting on the corner of the wall.

"In the wash." She said simply.

Now he was mad.

"You mean to tell me that you wasted an entire cup of Tide on your _pants?!_ Do you know how much that stuff costs? It was only water!"

Maggie laughed. "Relax, I'm doing a load of your stuff, too...Why? Am I making you _uncomfortable?"_ She pouted in a baby voice, rubbing away at a fake teardrop.

Terry buried his face in the covers, acting as though he were trying to get warm instead of hiding the damned blush in his cheeks.

"Pssh, please. I've seen better legs on a table." He muttered, trying to appear uninterested.

Maggie chuckled evilly before swinging around the corner.

"And by the way," she said, peeking back at him. "It was pop."

* * *

Maggie sat on the washer in the basement, swinging her legs back and forth as she waited for her load to be done. The basement was a lot smaller than she thought it would be...oh well. She could manage.

She hummed a random tune as she thought back to what had just happened upstairs.

It was so fun messing with Terry. She could see why he did stuff like that to other kids at school...Er, well, not stuff like_ that_, but you know...stuff to make other people uncomfortable...eh, never mind.

Honestly she didn't see what the big deal was. Her jacket was oversized, so it covered her butt and everything. She had seen girls at school with shorts that covered less than that. No big deal.

Still, it was priceless to watch Filkins act all squeamish about it. Haha!

...

EEERRNT!

Aaaand that would be her laundry. Well, his laundry, but whatever. Maggie hopped off the washer, opened the door, and began to throw everything into the dryer.

* * *

Terry was so bored out of his mind calling for Maggie was seeming like more and more of an option. But just as his resolve was about to crumble she came prancing around the corner, ignoring him completely, and skipped upstairs.

The hell?

His mind reasoned that maybe she needed to use the bathroom and that she_ wasn't_ screwing around with his stuff, but his poor attempt at self-comfort was soon shattered as she came back downstairs, this time with pants on.

His pants.

"What the hell?!" He yelled, making her stop halfway down the steps.

She said nothing, merely finished tying off the bow she had made in his sweatpants.

"...Were you in my dresser?" He glared at her, though he already knew the answer.

She laughed. "No! I can't fit in there!"

Why that little smart-ass...

Unfortunately he didn't have anything in his arsenal of comebacks that fell under the category of 'dresser', so Terry stayed quiet, staring at her in disbelief.

The nerve of that girl!

"Come on." She said suddenly, making a move to go back upstairs.

"What?" He asked, confused.

She rolled her eyes. "Come on," she repeated. "You wanna get your face cleaned up, don't you?"

Oh, yeah. His face. He knew he had been beaten up, but he didn't know how bad. Though judging from how bad he was feeling he wouldn't wanna go looking in a mirror any time soon.

Terry pushed the blanket off of him and attempted to get up, grunting as the sharp pain returned in his side.

What _was_ that?

Maggie looked at him sympathetically, and he automatically hated her for it.

"Do you need help?" She asked with a hint of concern.

_"No."_ Came his curt reply.

Oh, it hurt. Just not to the point where he was doubling over in pain or anything, and certainly not to the point where he was about to ask for help, let alone _hers._

He slowly made his way to the staircase, grabbing onto the railing as soon as he reached it. With each step he took, Maggie took one step backwards, probably making sure he wasn't gonna tumble over or anything. This angered him, because...well, he wasn't handicapped, for God's sake!

In the hallway that lie at the top of the stairs, the bathroom was the first door on the right. Terry went in and, putting the lid down, sat on the toilet, Maggie following close behind. She turned on the light, went over to the cabinet that rested above the sink, took out his parent's first-aid kit, and knelt down in front of him, resting it on the shower ledge.

He had a feeling he wasn't going to enjoy this...

* * *

"Okay, you ready?" Maggie asked. When he said nothing she took that as a 'yes'. She then proceeded in taking a sterilized wipe to his face, cleaning off some of the grime.

She made sure not to be gentle; he got himself into this mess, and she'd be damned if he didn't feel the pain. She inwardly smirked to herself when she saw him wince.

As she cleaned off his face, she realized that she probably should have done it as soon as she had brought him in, not an hour and 43 minutes later. More risk of infection, but she wasn't about to tell him that. After she was done, she tossed the wipe into a little trash bin that sat beside the toilet.

She then grabbed a bottle of salve, opened it, and squoze some out onto her finger. Just as she was about to put some on the gash on his forehead, Terry jerked his head away and grabbed her wrist.

"God damnit, I'm not a baby!"

She sighed, looking at him disapprovingly. "I know that, you idiot. Look, of you wanna be the one to do this, then by all means, go ahead."

She started to get up, but he tightened his grip on her wrist and jerked her back down.

"...Are those things even clean?" He asked, tone sour.

She looked down at her hands, realizing what he was talking about. "Well of COURSE I washed my hands, are you nuts?!"

Actually she hadn't, but he didn't need to know that.

Terry eyed her skeptically before muttering "Whatever..." and releasing her wrist, allowing her to continue. Maggie got back to work, putting salve wherever it was needed, which luckily wasn't much.

She then moved on to the alcohol...oh, wait. Was she supposed to do that before or after the salve?

Terry must have caught on to her uncertainty, because he said, "Do you even know what you're doing?"

Holding her chin up, Maggie confidently replied, "YES." And she dabbed some alcohol onto a cotton ball, and quite forcefully placed it on his forehead.

He started to wince, but cut himself off, obviously trying to be 'tough'. Whatever. She wiped his face off again, and put a couple of butterfly bandaids on the more serious cuts. When she was done, she gathered up everything she had used and threw it all away.

She was about to close up the first-aid kit, but Terry stopped her.

"Wait." He said.

He then proceeded to take off his hoodie, grunting in pain as he did so, and lifted up his gray sleeveless undershirt, revealing a shard of glass stuck in his side.

"Is it bad?" He asked, not looking at her.

_Was it bad? _

There was a giant piece of glass jammed into his rib, of course it was bad!

Maggie knelt back down, moving her hands toward the wound. She hovered over the shard of glass, but decided not to touch it. Upon further inspection she noticed a trail of fresh blood oozing over the old, dried, crusted one.

He must have reopened it when he came up the stairs or something. And it looked like it was in there pretty deep...well shoot, she wasn't trained for this!

Maggie opened and closed her mouth, searching for what to say.

"I...I think-"

"Just say it!" He snapped.

"I think you should go to the hospital." She finished.

Terry shook his head. "No. No, you can do it, just-"

"_No,_ I _cant,"_ she said, getting angry. "You don't..._see,_ how deep it is. It could get infected-"

"I dont care, just take it out!" He ordered.

"No!" Taking her hands away, Maggie stood up and attempted to leave the room, only to be stopped as Terry latched onto her wrist and forcefully spun her back around.

"You are going to help me, you little witch," he said threateningly as he brought her eye-to-eye with him. "_Whether you like it or not."_ He finished through clenched teeth.

Jerking her hand out of his grip, Maggie gave him a glare before sitting back down next to him and opened the first-aid kit again, searching for something to take the glass out with. She found a device that looked like a cross between tweezers and tongs. Perfect. She grabbed them and held them near the shard, taking a breath to steel herself.

"Here," she said, offering her hand out to him.

He looked at her quizzically. "For the pain," she explained. "You're gonna want something to grab on to. _Trust_ me."

Reluctantly, he took her hand.

She turned her attention back to the wound. Taking another breath, she asked, "Ready?"

"Yeah," he replied, taking a breath himself.

With slow movements, Maggie grabbed the shard gently but firmly with the twongs (or whatever they were called) and pulled. Terry grunted loudly in pain, gripping her hand tightly. Seeing his distress, she immediately ceased her movements, breath hitching as she looked up at him.

"No," he said, loosening his grip ever so slightly. "Keep going."

Looking back at her progress, Maggie decided it would be best to get it out as quickly as possible.

Squeezing the twongs tighter, she adjusted her grip on Terry's hand, wrapping her fingers around his almost as tightly as he had, and in that moment she knew that it dawned on him what she was about to do.

Leaving no room for protest, Maggie gripped the glass even harder, and yanked it out.

"AAAH!" He screamed, and the pain in her hand was unimaginable.

She held the offending object up to her face for further inspection. It came out pretty quick. It must not have been in there as deep as she thought. It looked like some type of beer bottle, and as she looked closer she could make out part of a logo.

"Is that it?"

Her gaze snapped to Terry, who was staring at the piece she was holding.

"Yeah." She said. It was then that she noticed how hard he was still gripping her hand. _Man_, that hurt!

Squirming uncomfortably, she tried to not make it obvious; after all, he was the one who had just had a foreign object surgically removed from his body, not her. Terry, however, now that he had calmed down, noticed her pained expression and let go of her.

A bit of an awkward silence followed, but not for long.

Tossing the shard in the trash, Maggie cleaned and dressed his wound. She rinsed off the twongs and put everything away.

As she finished washing her hands, she picked up Terry's hoodie, shaking off any excess dirt. She was about to go downstairs and toss it in the wash, but he snatched it back.

"Give me that." He said, annoyed.

Her brows knit together. "You mean you're still gonna wear it?"

"Yeah, why not?" He asked as he pulled it back over his head.

"It's got blood on it!" She exclaimed.

"So? I've had worse things on my clothes than blood."

Well _that_ left a lot to the imagination.

Rolling her eys, Maggie turned to leave.

"Thanks."

She froze in her spot. Did he just...?

She finally turned around to face him, eyebrows furrowed in disbelief. "What?" She asked, mostly to herself. Terry breathed in deeply, probably in annoyance, and repeated, "I said thanks."

She looked down at the floor, feeling a little confused.

"You're welcome." She said quietly, and turned to go back downstairs.

* * *

Terry really didn't see what the big deal was. All he did was say thank you. Was that a crime? Was it so inconceivable that she had to turn around and jump to the hostile side of the fence? She practically saved him a few thousand dollars at the hospital, he'd be an _ass_ not to thank her!

Oh, wait. That's pretty much what she thought he was...

Terry thought about heading to his room and crashing - he was dead tired - when Maggie appeared in the doorway again.

"Hey, do you like...want something to eat?" She asked, looking somewhat embarrassed.

What, she was gonna start living here now?! Did she think she could just waltz into his kitchen and touch all his stuff? Because if that was the case then she could just go-

"I was gonna make sweet and sour chicken, but I wasn't sure if you wanted something else..." She trailed off, sounding a bit more irritated.

Sweet and sour chicken? As in Chinese food? As in a piping hot, steaming meal? That he didn't have to make? Well no one had said about a full-blown dinner, here. This was a totally different ball game.

"...That's fine." He answered begrudgingly, trying to hide his eagerness at getting some food in his belly. "Okay." And she left.

Thinking he was finally alone, Terry began to sigh, but she was back 2 seconds later.

"Oh, and what do you want for dessert?"

Was she serious? She was gonna make dessert, too? Well damn, maybe he should keep her...

"Because I was gonna make that angel toffee cake you've got in there, but I didn't know if you'd want it or not."

Angel _what_, now? If he wasn't mistaken, he didn't have anything like that in there. But if she was offering...

"Yeah, whatever. That's fine." He said, rubbing his eye as he waved her off. Maggie nodded and disappeared, but not before walking up to him and handing him an ice pack. "For your eye." She explained.

Terry held it in his hands for a few moments before raising it up to his black eye.

He stayed that way for about 30 minutes.

He was seriously considering going to bed right now. He was sore, he was tired...Maggie could wake him up when the food was ready.

Getting up from his spot on the toilet, Terry walked over to the mirror to look himself over. He had two butterfly bandaids on his forehead, and one on his cheekbone. His black eye was down to a light purple, and he could only imagine how bad he looked when Maggie had found him.

That kid had clocked him pretty good. How was he supposed to know he was a member of the boxing club? All he wanted was a way to blow off some steam-

His train of thought stopped in its tracks as an unfamiliar smell wafted into the bathroom. Oh, God, was that dinner? It smelled so good...

That's it. He was definitely not going to sleep.

* * *

Terry went downstairs and, wincing a little as he bent down, turned on his 360. He popped in GTAIV and plopped down onto the couch, wincing yet again.

Dammit, since when did he get so fragile?

He glanced behind him every now and then, even though he could only see the corner that rounded to the kitchen, to check and see if dinner was ready.

He had just finished hijacking a car when Maggie came in. "Dinner's ready." She announced in a somewhat irritated tone. Finally! Hitting pause, he dropped his controller onto the couch and followed her to the dining room. When he got there he stopped in his tracks.

He had to say, he was impressed.

There was a pile of chicken on his plate, mixed with some veggies and...was that pineapple? Anyway, there was chicken, a can of soda, and a little bowl of what he could only assume to be rice.

He didn't even know he _had_ this stuff in his kitchen.

"I already ate," Maggie said, pulling his chair out for him. "So dig in."

She went back into the kitchen as he sat down and stuffed his face. When he was done, he sat back in his chair, savoring the feeling of being full. Maggie came back out and took his soda can and rice bowl. She came back to take his plate, but he grabbed onto the other end, stopping her.

"What are you doing?" He asked for the hundredth time that night.

"I'm taking your plate." She said, annoyed.

"No, I mean why are you doing this?" She knew what he was talking about. She would never be this nice to him on any other day. Something was up.

"Look, it doesn't matter-"

"Yes it does. Now why are you acting all nicey-nice?"

"I'm trying to be nice to you, you idiot!"

"I know! And that's the problem! WHY are you being so nice to me?!"

"Because, you've just been through a traumatic experience-" he scoffed "-and you could use a little 'nice' for a change." She finished, an invisible vein throbbing in her forehead.

Was she serious? She was breaking her neck trying to be nice to him just because he was a little beat up? Damn, this girl was something else, haha! This was hilarious, he'd have to get hurt more often!

Masking a smirk with an untrusting scowl, Terry said nothing, and stayed silent. But, actions speak louder than words, and he was about to do something that would speak volumes.

Deciding to test her patience, Terry let go of the plate.

Maggie stumbled backwards, twisting a bit, before reeling and falling on the floor.

Seconds passed.

Shock set in.

Silence followed.

Emotions ran high.

Hiding a smile, Terry watched as she slowly stood back up, collected her dignity, and, taking a moment to calm herself, begrudgingly walked back into the kitchen. She hadn't said a word.

Wow, she was serious about this.

She came back a couple minutes later with a plate full of that angel-toffee-whatever.

Damn, he wasn't sure if he could eat it.

"It's not as cold as it should be," she said, setting it down a bit forcefully in front of him. "But it's still good." And she left again. Ignoring her now unmasked sour attitude, Terry stared at the cake in front of him, unsure if he should eat it or not.

She may have poisoned it. He wouldn't put it past her.

Ah. Screw it. He'd had a really shitty night. He deserved this beautifully-created delicacy made by the hands of his arch-nemesis.

* * *

After he was done eating, Terry went back to his game. He was just about to press play when a though hit him. What time was it? Rather than twist his head _aaall_ the way around to read the clock waaaay on the other side of the room, he hit the dashboard button on his controller.

12:22 A.M.

Wow.

Just then, Maggie called out to him. "I'm leaving." She announced. Terry turned around to face her. She was standing by the door with her hand on the knob. Her hair was down, and he noticed the sweatpants she had been wearing had been replaced with her own.

"Okay..." he said, trying to sound like he didn't care...uh, because he didn't, of course.

"Okay..." she repeated, and opened the door.

"Wait," he said, getting up. He winced as he did so - his movements were far too quick for his injured body. She paused, staring at him.

"You're not gonna..." dammit. He decided to rephrase. "You better not tell anyone about this." He threatened.

"I won't." She said shortly.

"Not if you actually start paying attention." She finished smugly.

He knew what she was talking about. Their pathetic excuse of tutoring sessions. There was the quiet, calculating, unfriendly, blackmailing bitch he knew.

"Pfft. Yeah, whatever." He replied.

She made to leave again. "Hey...why'd you help me?" He asked. And no, he wasn't trying to keep her there longer. He wasn't. He was genuinely curious about this. It was what he had been trying to come up with an answer for ever since he noticed she was in his house.

When she finally answered, it seemed rehearsed, like she had been asking herself the same thing, but her words still held their sarcastic edge.

"Because unlike _some_ people, I actually care."

And she left.

* * *

Terry stood there for a second, considering her words. He sighed, turning off the 360. He didn't feel like stealing cars or pimping hos anymore. As he made his way to the kitchen for a quick drink (milk sounded good) all sorts of thoughts went through his head, most of which centered around Maggie.

How was Monday going to go? Would she keep her mouth shut? Was there any more of that cake? Maybe he shouldn't be so hard on her. After all, she did practically save his life, right? And where were his keys?

Maybe she wasn't so bad after all. Maybe he should soften up. It'd be pretty damn nice having a gourmet meal every night...

She wasn't bad-looking, either. She was actually pretty cute, even beautiful. He was actually surprised when her mom had told him she'd never had a boyfriend. He wondered if-

WOAH.

He was _not_ about to just entertain the idea of them...together? Was he? She must have put a hallucinogen in that cake...

Still, she could probably be a cool...friend. Or something. I mean, how many girls did he know that would (let alone could) nurse a bloodied almost-stranger back to health? None. So she had to be kind of cool...

As his personal opinion of Maggie rose higher and higher, Terry walked into the kitchen.

His stitches nearly burst open when he saw the mountain of pots, pans, mixing bowls, cups, utensils, and plates sitting none too gracefully in the sink. And to top it all off, she hadn't cleaned the counter space. There were piles of flour, sugar, whipped cream, milk, and- was that hair?!

He gaped at everything that was waiting for him to clean up.

Bitch...

**A/N: Yep. And the corny-ness continues :/ lol jk. That'll be it. For now. Lol. XD**

**In case you didn't quite catch what happened as to _why _Terry was all beat up (or you just skimmed, like I tend to do) he pretty much got his face smashed in by the kid he saw in the last chapter :D **

**...Wait, that's nothing to smile about :(**

**If you've never had sweet and sour chicken, you should try some. Really, you should. You wouldn't think that chicken and pineapple go, but they really do.**

**And yes, angel toffee cake is very real. In fact, if you haven't had any, I recommend the recipe from the website tasteofhome. It's REALLY good.**

**For anyone and everyone that's interested, I will be updating on Mondays and Fridays until this story is finished. And it WILL. BE. FINISHED.**

**Oh, and I feel kinda bad since I haven't said this yet, so let me take a moment to say thank you to everyone who has bothered to review and fave, and especially to all those who don't have an account that look/read. **

**It really annoys me when a fanfic author drops a story just because they aren't getting the amount of reviews they wanted. What about all the people who love the story that don't have an account? I have been there, too, and because of this I will not EVER abandon a story for such a silly reason. So rest assured, for this boat shall sail on! :D**

**Okay, rant over :|**

**'Till next time! Tell me if you encounter any of the incredibly deadly typos! (points if you get the reference) **


	7. Intermission

**A/N: In THIS chapter, Maggie decides to get some friends, hang out at a skate park, go to the movies, and enjoy Terry's absence.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Drillbit Taylor.**

Chapter 7: Intermission~

Maggie shut the door to her house, locking it. She still had an estimated 23 minutes before her parents got home, so she took her time going around the house locking windows, closing blinds, and turning off lights.

When she was finished, she headed upstairs to her room.

Knowing that when her parents got home they would turn _all_ the lights back on when she was trying to sleep, she shut her bedroom door.

Sighing, Maggie hopped under the covers of her bed, letting the night's events sink in. She still couldn't believe that Terry had been beat up.

It was almost too good to be true.

Even more, she couldn't believe she had actually helped him. She had seen him in a heap on the sidewalk and everything else was just instinct, she suppposed.

Her and her stupid bleeding heart.

She just cared too much.

Dammit.

* * *

Strangely enough, Maggie didn't have a very nice weekend.

It just felt like she didn't..._do_ anything.

Sure, she helped around the house, watched her favorite shows, and messed around outside, but it all felt so... the climax of the events two days prior made everything seem dull in comparison.

She needed a change.

"Maybe you should go out with some friends," her mother had suggested.

"I don't _have_ any friends, mom." She said.

"Well _get_ some!" Her mother replied.

Yeah. She should.

But everything wasn't that simple.

Maggie wasn't the type to just walk up to someone and say 'hi'. And besides that, people didn't usually go near her anyway. She had a pleasant face, but her demeanor tended to put people off, so they stayed away from her.

She had always told herself she didn't need any friends (which was true, she could manage just fine without them) but wanting friends was an entirely different matter, and she was seriously starting to consider her mother's advice.

Inevitably, however, by the end of the weekend, Maggie had made up her mind.

She would NOT come home tomorrow without a friend.

* * *

When Maggie made it to her first class the next day, Terry was nowhere to be found. She couldn't say she was surprised.

Who would want to come into class with a shiner like that?

She did feel a twinge of panic race through her for a split-second when she thought of all of the insane possible reasons he didn't show (besides the black eye, of course), most of which centered around that gash in his side.

Did it get infected? Did he have to go to the hospital? Was he lying on his death bed? Was he already dead? Was it all her fault? Had she inadvertently killed him?

Of course, once she noticed that his car was no longer still sitting in the school's parking lot she realized that he had to have been fine and she was just being silly.

Dead people didn't take their cars to Heaven.

...or Hell.

Whichever.

She wished she could play the saint and say that Terry's presence was missed, but that would be a lie. In fact, she enjoyed every second of it.

It was unbelievably nice being able to fully concentrate, to not have her hair pulled, to not have to worry about being tripped, to not have to be so stressed...yep. She could definitely find a friend today.

* * *

Without all of the distractions, Maggie was in a very good mood by the time lunch came around. She sat in the corner - alone - like she usually did, though she knew that was no way to make friends.

But just as she thought about moving to a more populated area, someone sat down at her table.

Wow. Maybe it was a good way to make friends.

Maggie immediately recognized the person.

It was that girl! The same girl who had been eavesdropping on her and Terry's little 'spat' in the library, the skinny one with the auburn hair.

"Hi." She greeted, earning a nod from Maggie.

The girl paused before introducing herself. "I'm Rachel."

Huh. Okay. "Maggie," Maggie replied, reaching across the table to shake her hand.

"Cool," Rachel said, looking at the table.

She seemed quirky, but shy, and Maggie had a feeling this could work.

"I saw you with Filkins the other day," said Rachel, obviously ashamed at having just admitted she had been spying.

"I know." Maggie replied simply.

Rachel continued. "It's just that...why do you hang out with him? I mean, he's..._mean_." she finished lamely.

Well that was unexpected. Usually potential friends didn't ask you about the people you 'hung out' with, let alone why. Unless she was mistaken.

Nevertheless, Maggie wasn't offended. She knew Rachel was just curious, not condemning, about her social circle (or lack thereof).

She answered immediately. "Oh, um, I don't, it's just that..." she sighed, deciding to start over. "Principal Doppler told me to get his grades up before the end of the semester, so I've been..._tutoring_ him." She finished, annoyed at the memory.

Rachel nodded in understanding. "Oooooh, okay. So you don't, like..._like_ him or anything, right?"

Did she say understanding? She meant confusion.

"_No_." Maggie replied, her voice coming out more hostile than she intended.

Rachel, however, seemed unaffected. "Oh. Okay."

They ate for a few minutes in silence, but Maggie had the distinct feeling Rachel had something to say.

It wasn't long before her theory proved correct.

"So, do you want to, like...go out sometime?"

Maggie's head shot up. Where did _that_ come from?!

Upon seeing her slightly horrified expression, Rachel held her hands up in defense. "NOT like that! I mean just...out. Like outside of school? Like, the mall, or...do you wanna be friends?"

Jackpot. We have a winner.

If Maggie weren't such a quiet keeps-to-themselves kind of person she would have done a backflip and sang 'yes' loud enough for the entire cafeteria to hear.

In another universe, that is.

Instead, she set her expression to neutral, and waited a few short seconds before replying,

"Okay."

Rachel's face brightened. "Great! Um, here, I'll give you my number!" She said excitedly, reaching over the table to grab Maggie's cellphone.

As she was putting in their numbers, a boy came up and sat down next to Rachel.

"Hey, Rachel," he greeted, patting her on the shoulder. He looked over at Maggie as if just noticing her, though Maggie had noticed him staring from across the room for about 5 minutes.

"Who's this?" He asked, interested.

"My new friend Maggie." Explained Rachel, still messing with their phones.

Silence...

"Oh, this is Danny." Rachel introduced, handing Maggie her phone back. Maggie stared at the two of them, and they did the same to her. They seemed pretty close, but she couldn't tell if they were related, a couple, or just really good friends.

My, the lines have blurred.

"So, are you two..." Maggie gestured with her hands.

Almost immediately they scooted away from each other, their expressions turning from inquiring to awkward. Rachel chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

"Oh, no, we're just friends." She explained. "We've been best friends for like...ever, haha."

Maggie nodded. "Oh, okay."

She looked over at Danny, who was still staring at her. She hated it when people did that, just stared and said nothing. But she kept her thoughts to herself.

Instead, she focused on his appearance.

He had short, dark brown hair, which was spiked in the middle, almost like a mohawk, except it wasn't nearly long enough.

He had a pretty pleasant face - sun-kissed skin, nice smile and all that - and he seemed like an easy-going guy, and judging from the way he was dressed he looked like a member of the skater clique.

She really wasn't liking the way he was looking at her, though. She would have asked him what his problem was, but he was Rachel's friend and she didn't want to blow her first (and possibly only) chance at friendship before graduation.

Instead, she focused on eating her food.

He obviously wanted to say something, but she really hoped he wouldn't. She had enough 'dude problems' as it was.

Just then, Maggie spotted Ronnie. He was busy scaring some kid out of his seat to make way for him and...was that Alexandria?!

She craned her neck for a better view, but Danny blocked her vision.

"So you new here, or something? I don't remember seeing you last year."

Maggie looked at him, her face everything but expressive. "Yeah. I just moved here at the end of August."

She had said the words blandly, but Danny, God bless his soul, actually seemed interested.

"Cool, cool...so where you from?" He asked casually, drumming his fingers on the table.

"Across town," she replied, being as vague as possible.

She had known him for all of 2 minutes. He didn't need to know her business.

Danny, however, apparently wasn't satisfied with this answer, and pressed further.

"Wwwwhere across town?" He asked, leaning over the table, a mischievous grin on his face.

The nerve of this guy!

Rachel 'tsked' and promptly jabbed him in the ribs. "Oh, don't mind him, Maggie. He's just _nosy_."

She jabbed him again. Danny just smiled and rolled his eyes.

Maggie had only a few moments of solace, however, before he asked again.

"So where were you?"

She couldn't stop the sarcastic reply that flew from her lips. "In LaLa Land, on the other side of the rainbow. My mother's a faerie and my dad's a surgeon. He goes by Dr. Lollipop. Have you heard of him?"

Danny stared at her with a surprised (shocked, even) expression, his eyebrows shooting for the moon.

For a second she thought she had blown it, but Rachel suddenly burst out laughing.

"Ahahahahahahaaaa! Maggie, you are SO funny!"

Well that was new. Since when was she funny? Most people thought she was sarcastic, grumpy, pessimistic, or all-of-the-above.

This was certainly an unexpected - though not unwelcome - turn of events.

She looked at Danny again to gauge his expression, surprised (though not outwardly so) to find him trying to stop from laughing as well, his mouth twisted into an awkward kind of smirk.

* * *

The rest of lunch went by okay. Rachel would ask her a question every 30 seconds (how old are you, what kind of music do you like, what's your favorite color, etc.) and Maggie would give the shortest answer possible, though she made an effort to be as politely 'elaborative' as she could, all the while trying to ignore the fact that Danny wouldn't quit staring at her.

Eventually Danny left, saying he had to get to class, but not before saying, "Bye, Mags."

Okay, when did she say it was okay for him to give her a nickname?

The second he left, Rachel leaned over the table and whispered excitedly, "Oh, my, gosh, Danny totally likes you!"

Maggie knit her brows together. "What? How could you know that? He doesn't like me."

Rachel waved her hand away in an 'oh, please' manner.

"Oh, please."

Told you so.

"He is totally into you! And who could blame him, you are totally gorgeous...I bet your cafeteria dessert that he'll ask you out by the end of the semester." She smiled, waving her pudding spoon at her.

The end of the semester would be in January. It was October now. That gave Rachel roughly 2-and-a-half months to be right.

Well shoot, anything could happen in two months!

Still, she felt as though it were _highly_ unlikely.

"Okay," Maggie agreed, reaching out to shake her hand.

Rachel withheld said hand. "Ah, ah. You pinky-swear on bets."

She held out her pinky.

Maggie paused. She did _not_ do pinky swears. That was something prissy girls did.

_'Do you want to keep your friends?'_ Her conscience asked.

_'Do it.'_

And so, blushing lightly in embarrassment, Maggie extended her pinky towards Rachel's.

"Deal!" Rachel grinned, entwining their little fingers. "I gotta get to class with Danny, but I'll see you around, okay?" She said, picking up her things.

"Okay." Maggie replied, watching her go. She sat there a moment before getting up to go to class herself.

Maybe this friend thing could work out after all.

* * *

Terry wasn't there the next day, either. Though, Maggie barely had any time to acknowledge this fact as she had her plate full.

Full of Rachel, that is.

It hadn't even been a day and she was texting her nonstop.

The second she stepped in the door to her house Rachel called. Maggie wasn't much of a conversationalist, but they had somehow managed to be on the phone with each other for 2 whole hours. In those 2 hours, Maggie learned a lot about Rachel.

She liked to make bets, for one thing. They were always harmless in the sense that she never asked anything crazy if she won, but they were bets nonetheless.

She also liked spending time outside, or at least, out of the house.

In fact, she had invited Maggie out to the movies within the first 10 minutes of their conversation.

Maggie accepted, but somewhat regretted it when it became known that Danny would be there.

It wasn't that she didn't like Danny, it was just that she didn't particularly enjoy all of the obvious attention he was giving her.

She half-expected Rachel to give him her number, but she assured her that she would never do that without her permission. Maggie was skeptical of this, but didn't inquire any further.

Thankfully Rachel didn't take any offense to Maggie's lack of phone-talking skills. She had plenty of questions to balance her short answers anyway, and even after they were done talking on the phone, Rachel would almost immediately text her for another hour with a billion more.

Maggie never really understood the concept of 'lols' and 'omgs', but she was starting to see the appeal.

And Tuesday was no different.

After her first few classes, she met up with Rachel at lunch, followed soon after by Danny, who tried to spark a conversation with her even before he sat down.

"Hey, Mags, how you doin'?" He asked cheerfully, setting his tray down next to Rachel's. Rather than give another snide comment, Maggie decided to (try to) be nice.

Though that nickname was already starting wear on her.

"Fine." She answered, smiling slightly.

Rolling her eyes, Rachel traded her cupcake for Danny's tater-tots.

"Told you I could get her to smile." Danny said, giving Rachel a dazzling grin.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "I didn't say you _couldn't make her smile_, I said not within the first week," she explained.

Danny happily bit into his cupcake.

Ignoring their antics, Maggie looked over to find Alexandria sitting with Ronnie again. They had been spending a lot more time together lately.

How suspicious...

Danny once again broke her chain of thought. "So Rachel tells me you're goin' to the movies with us this Friday," he smiled. "What do you wanna see?"

She actually hadn't thought about that. "I dunno, what is there?"

Danny leaned back off the table and began counting fingers, his expression thoughtful to the point it was funny. "Let's see, we got..."

As he went through the list of names, Maggie realized she didn't really want to see any of them.

How was she supposed to choose between a rock and a hard place?

Rachel somehow picked up on her distress and said, "Don't worry about it, Maggie. I've already decided what we're going to see."

Danny scoffed. "Lemme guess: The Notebook 2: Gayness Reloaded?"

Rachel punched his shoulder. Hard.

"That movie was not _gay,_ it was sweet! And _no, _It's a comedy," she huffed, cheeks burning.

"Whatever," he chuckled, shaking his head.

Maggie stared at them, amused. They were so close that she found it hard to believe they weren't related.

"Okay, so we'll pick you up after school on Friday. Got it?" Rachel asked.

Maggie blinked, snapping out of her daze. "Oh, um...yeah."

The bell rang.

As Rachel and Danny started to get up, Maggie (for some unknown reason) felt the need to ask, "So, who's driving?"

Danny and Rachel looked at each other, smirking in sync.

"_Danny_ is," said Rachel slyly.

Danny took out his keys, jingling them in the air. Rachel chuckled.

"You drive?" Maggie asked.

"Oh, I GOT my license!" He snapped his fingers in a feminine fashion.

"Oh, stop it." Rachel chastised, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Pssh. Whatever." Came his nonchalant reply as he tossed his keys into the air.

"Bye, Maggie!" Called Rachel as she ushered Danny out. "Yeah, bye Mags," He called, throwing his keys in the air again.

"Bye," Maggie called back.

This had to be the most talking she had done in all her life.

* * *

Wednesday came and went, a near exact repeat of the day before. Terry was still a no-show. Rachel talked her ear off at lunch.

The only thing different was that Danny had invited her to a skate park.

She was inclined to say no, but she had never been to one before and she needed a new experience. She knew he wouldn't have been crushed or anything if she had declined - he was too easy-going for that - but in all honesty it was kind of hard to deny the boyish glint of hope in his eyes when he had asked her.

Besides. Rachel would be there. It wasn't like she wouldn't have someone to talk to. Or rather, talk to her. Never mind.

So, rather than laugh at the fact that he was asking her to go a skatepark, of all places (she _knew_ he looked like the skater type!) she simply said yes.

She could only assume she had made the right decision.

* * *

After about 10 minutes of being at the skate park, Maggie was (overall) glad she decided to come. She had to admit, it was thoroughly entertaining to watch all of the flips and tricks they did (not to mention the occasional blunder). She didn't feel socially awkward either, thanks to Rachel.

During breaks, Danny would bring a couple of his skater friends over to her and Rachel to talk to. Maggie didn't add much to the conversation, but she was content with listening anyway.

This one guy kept talking with Danny and Rachel about how angry he was with his girlfriend for cheating on him, but Maggie couldn't catch all of the details because a half-skater, half-emo by the name of 'Jacob' kept trying to talk to her.

She got the distinct feeling he was flirting with her, but she couldn't be sure. Not until Danny and his friends went back to skating and Rachel sauntered over to tell her all about it, that is.

Maggie felt that she was over exaggerating a bit, but Rachel disagreed.

"Guys don't talk to you unless they like you." She said.

Well shoot, if that was the case then nearly every guy on the planet liked her!

Maggie was seriously beginning to doubt her friend's romantic compass, but held her tongue on the possibility that she was so crazy she was right.

* * *

After about 2 hours of hanging out at the ramps, Danny and Rachel dropped Maggie off at her house, said their goodbyes, and headed home themselves.

As expected, her mother hit her with a barrage of questions the second she walked in the door.

When did you get friends? How was the skate park? Was that a boy I saw? What are their names? When are you going out again?

Maggie had kind of just called her mom after school and asked if she could go out with friends that day. Her mom, so flabbergasted by all of this new information, had just said yes.

Maggie had been so time-consumed with Rachel's...well, Rachel-ness, that she'd completely forgotten to tell her parents about her new friends.

Whoops. She had a lot of gaps to fill.

* * *

The movies were okay. There were so many people there that night that Rachel went ahead of them to save seats, leaving Maggie with Danny at the concession stand.

She had a feeling this was no accident.

Danny paid for an insanely priced large popcorn, and, noticing Maggie staring at the candy display, a pack of gummie bears. She tried to decline, saying they could just buy some after the show for a dollar, but he acted like it was no big deal and bought them anyway.

When they got to their theater, Rachel had saved them the last 2 seats.

And they were side-by-side.

Which meant that she would have to sit next to Danny.

Now she _knew_ this was no accident.

So in the end, she ended up sitting on the end of one of the first few rows, next to Danny, who sat next to Rachel, who sat next to some fat guy.

Danny, being in the middle, held the popcorn. Rachel had no problem digging her - probably unwashed - hands into the bag, but Maggie stuck with her gummie bears.

It was an okay film. She recognized a few of the actors, but their names escaped her. The story was good enough (for a comedy) and it made her laugh, so it was good enough for her.

By the time she had gotten through her gummie bears, Maggie looked over to see that Rachel and Danny had devoured the entire bag of popcorn on their own.

Wow.

They could eat.

When the movie was over, they got rid of all their trash and went to the bathroom. As they walked out to Danny's (well, his parent's) truck, Rachel ranted.

"I didn't think it was that good. I mean, it was _so cliche!_ And I couldn't get over the way that one guy looked!"

"Aw, can it, Rach. So what if it was? It made _me_ laugh, so it works for me." Danny said jokingly, hands digging in his pockets for his keys.

Rachel sighed. "It just wasn't as 'original' as they said it was, that's all."

"You mean like your face?"

"Shut up."

Upon noticing Maggie's quietness, Rachel asked, "What did you think of it, Maggie?"

Her head shot up at the sound of her name. "Oh, um, I liked it." She said, and both Rachel and Danny's heads turned in her direction.

"Oh. Well I'm glad you liked it," Rachel beamed.

"See, Danny? Don't I know how to pick 'em?"

He gave her a funny look. "You just said it sucked-"

"_Don't_ talk back." She interrupted, jabbing him with her elbow.

Maggie silently chuckled to herself before climbing in.

* * *

The ride home was pleasant. Rachel sat in the middle, so Maggie didn't have to endure the awkwardness of sitting next to Danny.

As they pulled up to Maggie's house, Rachel spoke. "So we'll see you Monday?"

"Yeah, I don't see why not." Maggie replied.

Rachel smiled brightly. "Great! See you!"

Maggie hopped out of the truck. "Yeah, see you." She waved.

"Bye!" Danny and Rachel chimed simultaneously, waving as they drove off.

Maggie turned around to walk up to her house, only to be greeted by her mother standing in the doorway, an excited look on her face.

Maggie trudged inside, knowing full well that she wouldn't want any details left out of her trip.

**A/N: Aaaand that's it. I know you were probably expecting Terry to be in this chapter, but come on! Maggie ain't got no friends! :(**

**Terry will be back in the next chapter though, so don't worry. **

**Plus, believe it or not, this chapter actually served a purpose :O Rather than being a pointless, silly filler chapter, Danny and Rachel do actually help progress the story (omg!) as you will see in the next few chapters.**

**I updated early because I'll be too busy to do this tomorrow, so enjoy :D**

**Any typos or screw-ups, just tell me!**

**'Till next time!**


	8. Resume

**A/N: In THIS chapter: Filkins comes back, and Maggie has to deal.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Drillbit Taylor.**

Chapter 8: Resume~

After a week of no Filkins, Maggie knew her 'vacation' was coming to an end.

When she sat next to Rachel on the bus the following Monday, it was impossible not to notice the black Mustang speeding ahead of them on the way to school.

Trying to ignore the slight dread she suddenly felt, Maggie turned her attention to Rachel, who was talking about something funny her cat did, though found herself focusing less on the words and more on her mouth as it was moving so furiously.

When the bus stopped in front of the school to drop them off, she spotted Filkins standing by his car, showing Ronnie what seemed to be a sword.

She had heard rumors about Filkins using a katana, but she didn't think they were true.

She wondered if his black eye was gone.

It probably was, otherwise why wait an entire week before coming back?

Thinking of moving closer to get a better look but deciding against it, Maggie trotted off to class.

* * *

For once, she arrived at History before Terry. She had been idly playing with the tendrils of her hair when he walked in.

He didn't look at her as he made his way to his seat, his usual 'tough guy' persona in place.

So that was how it was going to be.

She knew things would be different once he came back, and in her week of reprieve she let her mind wander to the possible changes she would face now, if any. And somehow she knew it would end up being something like this:

He would act as if nothing happened (even though they both knew this was untrue) and she would, too.

They would both go about their daily routines, same as before, and ignore the elephant in the room.

Or hippo.

Or maybe a rhino, or some other large animal.

But much like using whiteout on a misspelled word (accidental, but forever permanent), it didn't change the fact that it was still there, whatever 'it' was.

She knew it would always be different between them (if only on a subconscious level), even if it appeared as if nothing had changed to everyone else.

It would be their little secret.

He wouldn't say anything, and neither would she.

Though she still wondered if he would be less mean to her. She knew it was absolutely silly - outrageous, even - to think that he would stop messing with her completely.

But she still hoped that helping him that night had made him at least think.

I mean _surely_ it counted for _something_-

She winced as Terry pulled her hair. Hard.

_This changes nothing, _he seemed to say_._

Nope. Still the same.

* * *

Interestingly enough, Maggie experienced no further harassment from Filkins. Which, to say the least, surprised her.

This, however, could only lead to something big, something more sinister.

Or something.

* * *

Lunch came by and Maggie sat with Danny and Rachel as usual, but she couldn't contribute much to the conversation because she was so on guard for Terry, expecting the worst.

She was able to calm down when she spotted him a few tables away, sitting with Ronnie - but where was Alexandria?

Deciding to forget about it (for now), Maggie turned her attention back to her uneaten lunch.

* * *

When Maggie went by the library to set up after school, Terry was already there waiting for her. He was in his usual seat, in his usual position - sitting backwards in his chair, arms resting on the back - seeming irritated but bored.

He didn't seem to notice her presence, or maybe he just didn't acknowledge her.

Maggie walked up to him, sitting down in her seat. She wasn't sure what to expect from him as she pulled out the textbooks and scrap paper and pens. She knew what was _agreed upon_, but she hadn't expected him to follow through.

No, she expected him to twist her words around, to fidget and wriggle and bend, until he could get out of their deal completely.

But you never know. Maybe he was serious about this.

But then again...

She needed to test the waters.

Maggie didn't want to be the one to have to speak first, but she knew Filkins wasn't about to oblige her any time soon.

"Okay, you ready?" She asked, looking at him.

He turned his head lazily to look at her. "Yep. Explain away," he sighed, gesturing towards the textbook.

She didn't allow herself to be surprised at his willingness - he still had plenty of time to zone out.

As she showed him how to do various problems in the textbook examples, she became inwardly surprised to find that he was actually paying attention.

He would even ask a question when he 'didn't know what the hell she was talking about', and his frustrated outbursts were completely overlooked by Maggie, who was so blown away by the fact that he was even listening to her that she calmly (though happily) tried to explain in better detail what he was stuck on.

It felt as though this were a temporary miracle and that she only had a small window of time before his brain capacity shut down again, possibly forever.

As they say, a mind is a terrible thing to waste, so Maggie worked as quickly and clearly and painlessly as possible with Terry, which ended up being 2 hours and 7 minutes.

"Alright, I think I'm done..." Terry sighed tiredly, leaning away from the table and stretching.

"Quitting so soon?" Maggie joked.

He gave her a look. "_No_, I just need to recover from the _mindrape_ you gave me," he replied smartly, resting in his seat.

Maggie sighed, tired herself. "Whatever," she muttered, putting everything away.

Filkins just smirked boredly at her.

Once she put everything away, Maggie picked up her bag and began walking out of the room, pausing to look back at Filkins, who was still in his seat.

"You gonna show up tomorrow?" She asked, curious.

Terry put his hands behind his head. "Bitch, please, I'll be here."

She smiled, rolling her eyes to cover up the elation and utter relief she felt at the last part of his answer.

She turned around and left.

* * *

In the 2 weeks that followed Terry showed drastic improvement in his math skills. By the end of the first week - the first! - Maggie was able to make up a sheet of example problems and have him solve them - _and_ get them right!

Well okay, not all of them, but most.

And since they were actually doing something instead of sitting there being frustrated with each other, their relationship (if you could even call it that) began to improve.

He had, over time, stopped messing with her during classes, though he still tugged her hair.

At first she was grateful, but then she noticed he had started to mess with Emmit and his friends (Wade, especially) more often, being much more brutal with them than he had ever been with her.

She felt terrible, and she knew that something had to be done.

* * *

She had been on her way to the restroom one day when she saw Wade and Ryan coming out of the boy's side with wet spots on their pants.

She knew who it was even before she had heard the howling laughter coming from inside the men's room.

This angered Maggie greatly.

It made her blood boil and her veins run hot, but she kept silent.

Now wasn't the time.

For the time being, all she could do was assess the damage.

* * *

During the time-consuming weeks that she had been spending on Filkins, Maggie hadn't been able to spend much time with Rachel...oh fine, and Danny, too. The only time she really saw them was at lunch.

Rachel had started riding with Danny to school, so she didn't see her on the bus anymore, and the hours she would spend tutoring Terry meant she couldn't really go out with them after class, and they were both busy on the weekends.

Despite all these things, however, their relationship didn't really suffer.

Rachel would still text her like crazy (though Maggie's replies became less frequent when Terry got annoyed, stuffed her phone in his pocket and told _her_ to focus) and she would still call.

Maggie was thankful to have her as a friend.

Unfortunately for her, everything was going _so_ well and perfect at the moment that Maggie knew it had to be close to its end.

And she was right.

She just didn't know when.

**A/N: Yep. It's all downhill from here :P**

**The reason I keep mentioning Alexandria is because I'm thinking about making a RonniexOC story. Even though I don't actually have anything written for them, I've thought about it heavily during the time it took me to write this.**

**SO, I just figured I might as well set the groundwork for their relationship in case I ever decide to get back to it. **

**You can tell me your thoughts if you want.**

**Oh, and Danny will serve a very _special_ purpose in the next chapter, *evil snicker***

**'Til next time!**


	9. Pass

**A/N: I am posting early because I have a (somewhat) important question for any and everyone who reads this, which can be found in the bottom Author's Notes.**

**In THIS chapter: Maggie meets her new 'teachers', Maggie does the math, Danny gets into some trouble, Rachel comes to a realization, Maggie gets sick, and Terry passes.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Drillbit Taylor.**

Chapter 9: Pass~

It all happened on a Friday.

It started out normal, of course, like most days do. Maggie had gotten up, got dressed, eaten a good breakfast, brushed her teeth, and rode the bus to school.

She thought something was 'off' when she noticed her History teacher had been replaced. Her 'new' teacher was some fat guy with a beard and long hair. He looked like a hillbilly. His looks, however, weren't what made Maggie suspicious of him.

It was his teaching method, if you could call it that.

For a history teacher, he didn't know much about history.

He took 2 minutes talking about the Civil War, then 5 minutes talking about Marilyn Monroe, and then asked how they were related.

_How are you supposed to answer something like that?!_

To top it all off, Maggie had (as well as the rest of the class) witnessed him flirting with one of the students. Blatantly, openly flirting!

Needless to say, she was glad when the bell rang.

* * *

Her other classes weren't much different.

Nearly all of her teachers had been replaced at some point, even Ms. Zachey. And they were shady, too. Especially the blond one. Maggie had seen him around campus talking with Ryan and Wade, and he seemed as though he had it in for Filkins and Ronnie.

She wondered what the connection was.

* * *

The blond one (Mr. Taylor, as she had later come to learn) had 'filled in' for just about every class Maggie had. Today, he was substituting for their gym teacher.

It was by far the easiest gym class she had ever had. Mr. Taylor only made them do 2 laps, 5 pushups, 10 situps, and a quick game of dodge ball before he made them sit back down.

At this point, Mr. Taylor announced that he was going to 'demonstrate new exercises'.

"Okay, you little rugrats, I'm gonna need some volunteers," he shouted across the vast space. "Okay, let's see..."

As he began to pick said 'volunteers', Maggie speculated that he must have had someone (or someones) in particular in mind, as he would point to a few random students, only to change his mind on each one.

"Okay, you, you, you...no, not you...you can sit back down...you," he pointed at Maggie. "Nah, you're too damn cute..." he moved on to the next would-be volunteer.

Maggie turned around to give Rachel a 'what-the-heck' look, only to find she was already staring at her, eyebrows rising up and down suggestively.

Oh, no. Not her too.

It seemed like anyone who didn't have a crush on Filkins had a crush on Mr. Taylor, and it was really starting to annoy her.

Maggie gave her an 'are-you-crazy' look before turning back around.

After many minutes of deliberation, Mr. Taylor ended up choosing Ronnie and Filkins, but Maggie had a feeling this was no coincidence.

Her feeling was proven correct when said boys were put through the workout of their lives.

Maggie and the rest of the students sat back for nearly an hour watching Mr. Taylor make Filkins and Ronnie do as many squats, crunches, lifting, medicine-ball-throwing, laps, and rock-climbing exercises as their muscles would allow.

Less than halfway through they were both sweating so much it looked like they had just come inside from a rainstorm.

Maggie looked behind her to see Rachel wiggling her eyebrows suggestively at her (again) and giggling. Maggie just rolled her eyes and looked back to Terry and Ronnie.

Sweaty guys were so gross...

* * *

Lunch was the most normal thing that happened that day. Maggie moved through the line, got her food, and sat with Rachel. Danny wasn't there. Rachel explained that he got detention for 'daydreaming' in class. Must have been one of the 'new' teachers.

As Maggie ate her food she was pleasantly surprised to find that it was still the same; same taste, same texture, same consistency.

_'At least the lunch lady hasn't changed,'_ she mused to herself.

As Rachel rambled on about Mr. Taylor and how there was totally something going on between him and Ms. Zachey, Maggie caught a glimpse of Ronnie and Terry making their way to another student's (soon to be theirs) table. They looked like they were back to normal, though they were definitely worn out.

_'And grumpy,'_ thought Maggie as she witnessed Filkins practically throw a kid out of his seat as he and Ronnie took their table.

* * *

Maggie thought about everything that had been going on today. The 'new' teachers, the 'talk' that Mr. Taylor had with Ryan and Wade just before school, the intense 'workout' Filkins and Ronnie had been given by Mr. Taylor, and the fact that all of the substitutes started showing up only _after_ Mr. Taylor.

Everything seemed to center around him...

Maggie did the math: Ryan and Wade get bullied by Filkins and Ronnie, Mr. Taylor shows up and discreetly thwarts any further attempts to bully Ryan and Wade, other teachers start showing up...

She could only come to the conclusion that Wade and Ryan had made some kind of deal with 'Mr. Taylor'. She didn't know how deep it went, but if you payed any attention like Maggie did, it was obvious that they were in cahoots together.

Maggie was so wrapped up in the Taylor Conspiracy that she didn't notice that Rachel was talking to her.

"Are you listening?"

Maggie jerked her head up. "Huh? I'm sorry, what?"

Rachel's attempt at being stern melted away into a giggle. "I SAID, what did you think of Mr. Taylor? Pretty cute, huh?"

...Was she seriously asking that question? "Um...yeah, sure I guess."

Rachel gasped, shocked. "You guess?! Oh, come ON, Maggie! That blond hair, those eyes..."

"That _nose_..." Maggie added, taking a sip of her juice box.

Rachel gave her a look. "...That was mean."

"Well, it's true!" Maggie defended.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Oh, whatever."

The lunch bell rang.

"Look, I'll see you after school, okay?" Said Rachel, getting up to take her tray in.

"Actually, I have studying with Filkins again tonight." Maggie replied, getting up as well.

She paused at the look on Rachel's face. "It's the last one! I promise!"

Her friend merely sighed. "Okay. Well no matter. I'll just text you until your eyes fall out of your head!" She gave a lighthearted laugh.

Maggie smiled. "Yeah," she laughed, and they both made their way to their classes.

* * *

When Maggie had finished with her classes, she headed for the library, dealing with Rachel's bombardment of texts as best she could on the way.

There was someone sitting at their usual spot when she got there. Normally she would have just moved to another table, but Terry had a psychological need to sit at _that_ particular one.

She speculated he had OCD...

Maggie walked up to ask them to kindly move - it was an emo that occupied their spot - but as she got closer she found there was no need. He saw her coming and almost immediately rose from his seat, and, wordlessly, sulked off to somewhere else.

At first she was surprised and just thought that he was done using the table, but when she thought about it she realized that he moved because of another reason entirely.

He was scared of her.

She knew that it was common knowledge to everyone else that she and Filkins frequented the library together, at this particular table, in these particular seats, at this particular time, but she assumed that it was also common knowledge that she was there against her will; she was being forced to do this!

She wasn't friends with Filkins! She wasn't like him! And she _certainly_ wasn't a bully!

I mean, sure, she had noticed that people tended to stay away from her even more than they already did, she occasionally got the evil eye or the dirty stare, and she definitely wasn't making any more friends, but...

Crap.

Maggie sat down - ew, the seat was warm - and thought about what all of this really meant. If she wasn't mistaken (and she highly doubted she was) then the reason people were avoiding her (and even scared of her) was because of all of the time she was spending with Terry.

The more she thought about it, the more it made sense.

No one but Filkins had ever messed with her. Sure, Ronnie had pitched in that one time on the first day of school, but she thought that he quit razzing her because he was spending more time with Alexandria. Now she realized it was probably because Terry had told him not to.

It was one of those sick situations where no one but the top dog could mess with the unfortunate victim they've 'claimed', whoever that may be.

Now she was mad.

She wasn't gonna lie, she was kinda sorta starting to enjoy Filkins' company, but if being 'kinda sorta friends' with him meant never being able to go near anyone for the rest of her school-life (save for Rachel and Danny) then forget that!

She was gonna have to put a stop to this.

Break it off, kill the switch, nip it in the bud, whatever.

But if she _really _wanted to put a stop to the ridiculously silly idea that she was 'off limits' or 'untouchable' to anyone but him, she was going to have to quit hanging around him.

Luckily for her, that shouldn't be too hard since this was their last tutoring session (Terry had a test coming up).

Maggie began getting everything out. As she was angrily putting the pens on the table she noticed a friendly face enter the library.

Danny.

She smiled at him, some of the anger melting away, thinking that maybe she could get through the rest of the day without a hitch.

Up until she noticed that he intended to come up and sit with her. "Hey, whatcha doin'?" He asked smoothly, pulling out Terry's chair and angling it towards her.

Oh, no.

He could _not_ be here. Not now. Not when Terry was practically just around the corner.

"Oh, um...look, now's not a really good time, so-"

"No biggie, I won't be long."

"Well, no- it's just that-"

"Look. I got somethin' I've been meanin' to say-"

"No, you don't understand-"

"So let me just get it off my chest, and I'll be out of your hair. 'Kay?"

This wasn't good. Terry would be here any second, she just knew it. But she also knew that Danny probably wasn't going to leave until he said whatever it was that he wanted to say. At a standstill, Maggie visibly struggled with herself for a moment before making her decision.

"Okay, what is it?" She said hurriedly.

Danny took a deep breath. "Okay," he breathed, leaning closer.

Oh, no.

This was it. He was asking her out. He was going to ask her out. Just like Rachel said.

Dangit.

But maybe she was wrong. Maybe it was something else entirely.

"I know we haven't really spent a whole lotta time together," Danny began.

Or maybe not.

Maggie wanted to lean away, to rewind so that she could pick a different course of action, but it was too late.

"But, I still really like you and I think you're pretty cool," he paused, scratching the back of his head. "I guess, what I'm basically trying to say is..."

Great, now she was gonna have to deal with the guilt of rejecting him...

Detecting movement in her periphery, Maggie looked to her right, just in time to see Filkins entering the library.

And he didn't look happy.

She immediately turned back to Danny. He needed to leave. His confession would have to wait.

Just as he began to speak, Maggie cut him off. "You need to leave." Danny stared at her for a moment, at a loss for words. "Uh...what?"

She wasted no time in replying. "You need to get out of here. Now, _go!"_

Filkins was stalking up to them now. Panicking, Maggie tried to usher Danny out of his seat, but to no avail.

"Who the hell are you?" Terry demanded, totally ignoring Maggie.

Danny finally acknowledged Filkins, his utter obliviousness to his clearly pissed off behavior throwing Maggie for a loop.

"Oh hey, I'm Danny." He greeted in a laidback tone, holding out a hand for him to shake.

And it all went downhill from there.

* * *

Terry had had a really bad day. He had banged his car up pretty good chasing those Siamese Queers (Ryan and Wade) so he had to ride to school with Ronnie and his mom, he had been humiliated in gym class, he had a pounding headache, some asshole took the last chocolate pudding at lunch, and all he had to look forward to at the end of the day was _Maggie_.

So yeah, he was kinda pissed when he saw some skater punk sitting in _his_ seat; talking to Maggie, nonetheless!

He couldn't believe the gall this kid had, being so laidback and civil. He obviously didn't get the message he was trying to send.

Well.

He'd just have to be more clear.

"Get the hell outta my chair." He ordered.

"Woah, bro. All you had to do was ask." Said 'Danny' as he got out of his seat. "There you go," he said, gesturing towards his spot. Filkins scoffed, shoving past him with his shoulder.

"So Maggie, like I was saying..."

Was this punk serious? Was he just born with the inability to take a hint or something?

Terry turned back around to give him a death glare, but apparently he was too focused on Maggie to notice.

"You wanna go out sometime?" Danny finished.

That was it.

Terry grabbed Danny by the shoulder and shoved him away. "Did you not hear me when I said get out?" He bit out harshly.

Danny copped a laugh. "You...didn't _say_ get out..."

Terry was getting more annoyed by the second.

"I'm saying it now: _leave_." He snarled.

He heard Maggie get up behind him. "I'll give you my answer Monday," she told Danny.

Terry whirled around to face her, disbelief written on his face. "You're not actually considering going _out_ with this retard, are you?!"

"So what if I am?" She said defiantly, suddenly angry with him.

He scoffed a laugh. "He's a..." he struggled to find the right word, "_dweeb! _What do you mean 'so what'?"

"Well at least he's _nice_ to me." She countered.

Terry forcefully grabbed her by the arm, and they glared at each other.

"Hey, leave her alone!" Danny stepped in, grabbing Terry's shoulder and spinning him back around to face him.

Now he was _really_ mad.

Finally snapping, Terry glared at him for a moment.

And then proceeded in promptly smashing his face in.

* * *

Maggie could hardly believe her eyes. What was his _problem!?_ Why was he acting this way? Why was a raven like a writing desk?! She was so surprised by the sudden outburst of violence that all she could really do was stand there.

Even more surprising, Danny fought back, something she just couldn't picture his non-confrontational self doing before this point.

She watched on in utter shock as Danny and Filkins wrestled to the floor of the library, beating the snot out of each other...well, trying to, on Danny's part.

The library was so quiet and the fight was so loud it felt like they were in an opera house, with every little sound amplifying and reverberating off the walls, practically broadcasting to the entire student body: 'Hey, everybody! There's a fight at the library!'

Maggie was so distraught over the scene before her. She felt so many things at once: she was mad at Filkins for being an ass, she was sad for Danny because he had gone through all of that trouble only to have his face punched in, and she was furious with herself for letting things go this far.

She wanted them to stop, but she knew they were so blinded with rage (well, Terry was) that her yells would fall on deaf ears, and she wasn't stupid enough to try and break them apart. She had seen what happened to a chick that tried that at her old school, and it wasn't pretty.

So in the end, Maggie just stood there, feeling helpless. She looked to the librarian, who ran out of the room, hopefully to get the principal and not to hand in her resignation form.

A crowd had gathered at the entrance, watching in horror, shock, amusement, and delight.

Maggie spotted Rachel, who was looking from Danny to her in shock and confusion.

Finally, principal Doppler arrived with 2 other teachers - along with the librarian - in tow. With some difficulty they pulled Filkins off of Danny, and Maggie ran up to help Danny to his feet.

She locked eyes with Filkins as they dragged him away.

It was one of the few moments in her life that seemed to happen in slow motion, and she didn't understand a millisecond of it.

* * *

She spent the entire weekend trying to figure out what on earth had just happened. Rachel called her Saturday and asked her to tell her every possible detail she could remember.

But everything had happened so fast...no. That was no excuse. She could remember.

She just didn't want to.

When she finished spilling her guts, Rachel was silent, something she normally wasn't. Maggie started to check the phone chord to see if the line had been severed, when Rachel suddenly gasped. Guess she was just piecing everything together.

"Ohmygosh..." she said, as if she had just had an epiphany.

Okay, Maggie was confused. "What?" She asked.

"He likes you." Rachel replied.

"Who, Danny? Yeah, we went over that-"

"No! Terry! _Terry_ likes you, ya dummy!"

Say what, now? "No he doesn't."

"Yes he does! Ooooh my GOSH, I cannot be-LIEVE I didn't see this before!"

"You can't be serious."

"No, really! That's why he teases you all the time!"

"Teasing? You call pulling and pushing and shoving and verbal abuse _teasing?"_

"Oh, come on, when's the last time he's physically hurt you?"

_Yesterday._

"...Never mind. Look, it's just a way for him to show how intense his feelings are." Rachel said as a matter of factly.

"...You're disgusting." Maggie said, scrunching her nose.

"Just you wait," Rachel laughed. "He'll be head-over-heels for you by the end of this year!"

"Whatever." Muttered Maggie doubtfully.

Rachel laughed again. "I gotta go. Bye Mags!"

"Bye."

"Oh, and by the way; I know _all_ about you and Danny. _You_ owe me a pudding."

Click.

_...What?!_

_'Danny must have told her,'_ she thought.

_Sigh..._

* * *

When Maggie came back to school on Monday, everything felt...awkward. Everyone seemed to be on the hush-hush, even the teachers. In fact, pretty much everyone was acting as if nothing had happened. Weird.

She was glad to see Danny's face was okay. For the most part.

He (amazingly) didn't have a black eye or broken bone, just a bunch of cuts and scrapes and bruises. Considering the fact that, from where she was standing, it sounded like Terry was beating him to a pulp, she found it astounding that he was even able to come into school the next day.

Danny just laughed and said it sounded a lot worse than it felt, but Maggie had her doubts.

* * *

She didn't see Filkins at all that day, but truthfully, she didn't want to.

When school let out and Danny casually asked for her answer, Maggie was at a loss, but only for a second. She thought about saying yes in that second, if only because she felt sorry for him after going through all that trouble to ask her, but she was no liar, and Danny was no sensitive crybaby.

She said no. He took it very lightly, saying it was perfectly fine and everything was cool, and Maggie knew he was telling the truth.

She smiled, and so did he.

And all was well again.

For the most part.

* * *

Maggie stayed home Tuesday. Her mother had called the school to say she was sick. It was true. She didn't know how or when, but she got sick.

_'Probably that bathroom stall,'_ she speculated as she sneezed all over her phone.

Rachel had been texting her all day. How she accomplished this during class, she would never know.

* * *

She was better the next day.

_'Just a bug,'_ her mother had told her.

She was welcomed back with overly eager arms Wednesday as she was nearly crushed by Rachel's welcome-back hug.

* * *

Filkins wasn't there that day either. She wasn't mad at him anymore, only curious.

After school, Maggie went to the principal's office. Not because she was in trouble, but because she just _had_ to know about Terry. The unmistakable fire of curiosity was burning her insides, and she was just itching to douse it.

It really didn't matter to her either way; he could do whatever he wanted for all she cared. But it was kind of like a question with no answer. We all know there is no real reason why a raven is like a writing desk, but we still wonder; Why_ is_ a raven like a writing desk?

Like so, we all know there is no real reason as to why Terry is a total ass, but the decent people of the world with a sympathetic ear still wonder: why_ is_ Terry an ass? Why _is_ he constantly missing school? Where could he_ possibly_ have to go that's worthwhile?

And so we wrack and search and pick our brains until we can come up with our own answers.

Luckily, Maggie wouldn't have to go through any of this, as the answer to _her_ question was just behind the door she was currently opening.

"Miss Lovelace! What brings you here?" Principal Doppler asked, smiling as he propped his elbows on his desk.

Maggie wasn't one to beat around the bush. "What happened to Terry?" She asked, a bit too bluntly.

"You mean _Mr. Filkins?"_ Judging by his tone, Maggie realized that she needed to switch tactics.

Softening her expression, she asked politely as she could, "Yes, do you know what happened to him? I haven't seen him since Friday."

Maybe he got suspended. That would be nice.

But, unfortunately, far too good to be true.

"Terry is...a troubled young man," Doppler replied, straightening the plaque on his desk.

Hey, maybe it wasn't too good to be true.

"But, as much as he deserved to be suspended, we _did_ have a deal."

Never mind.

"What do you mean?" Maggie asked, tone innocent.

She was honestly wondering how many loads of utter bull he had to shovel to get out of this one.

"Well, we both agreed that if he could get his test scores up, he was off the hook. You were there, don't you remember?"

_Oh._

...Wait.

There was a test on Tuesday. Maggie was sick. She missed that test.

Dangit.

"Soooo, what are you saying?" Maggie asked warily.

Doppler lifted his head to look at her, eyebrows raised.

"Terry took his math test yesterday."

"...And?"

"He passed."

**A/N: Yep, Terry passed. Thanks to Maggie's supreme tutelage, he was able to squeak by into yet another school year.**

**I finally brought in some characters from the original movie plotline. I know it's a bit late for that, but oh well. I'm going to continue following along the basic story, going all the way up to the party :D**

**You can't really tell by the way this chapter ended, but Maggie is not happy. You'll see what I mean in the next chapter.**

**It has been brought to my attention that some would prefer if I just typed up the rest of the story and did a batch post, so it'll be finished faster and you can just read to your heart's content. If others also think I should do this, I will. It'll just take me a while before I can post the whole thing XD Otherwise, I'll just continue the way I have been :)**

**Any questions or comments, just ask in a review or pm or whatever.**

**'Till next time.**


	10. Blind

**A/N: In THIS chapter: Maggie gets mad, has a heart-to-heart talk with her mom, and starts to see things a little differently.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Drillbit Taylor.**

Chapter 10: Blind~

He passed? Filkins _passed?_ And he didn't even bother to tell her?!

That...that...that _asshole! _And after all they'd been through!

After Doppler had told her this interesting bit of information, Maggie left. It would have seemed silly to be mad over something like this to an outside observer, but it was perfectly appropriate to Maggie.

So he was just going to avoid her now? Was that it? Rough up her friend and then leave? Never talk to her again? She at _least_ wanted an apology!

As far as she was concerned, _Terry_ was the one acting like the child, not _her_.

The more she thought about it the angrier she got.

Man, people like that really burned her insides! Maggie wasn't one to just _give away_ friendship willy-nilly, and for _him_ to come along and just leave her high and dry, leave her hanging, kick her to the curb, drop her like a hot tamale, cut her loose, forget about her-

Wait.

Deep breaths. Calm down. Breathe...

Maggie huffed in annoyance.

She should be happy, really. After all, he did beat up Danny. She shouldn't want to see him ever again. Not after that. Like, ever. At all. For the rest of her _life._

But, as much as she hated to admit it, she _did_ want to see him again. Or at least be able to talk to him. Sure, she was angry, but most of all she was disappointed. Things were going so well - SO well! - and he had to go and screw it all up.

It wasn't like she hadn't seen this coming, she supposed. She knew she and Terry weren't exactly 'friends' (when did she start calling him by his first name?) but she liked to think that they were getting along.

...Well...okay. _More_ than just getting along. By now she would have liked to consider him a friend. _Would_ being the key word. Now, after all that crap he pulled yesterday at the library - beating up her friend, being a total ass in general - she pretty much threw that fantasy out the window.

She almost felt sorry for him when she thought more deeply about it. Maybe it wasn't really his fault. Maybe it was just a part of who he was, and there was nothing she or anyone else could do to help it.

Like, maybe he _wanted_ to be good, to make friends, but there was just something in his DNA that made it impossible for him to do so. Kind of like a natural born killer. Or someone who tried to do good, but no matter what they did, things would never work out for them. Or something.

Then again, those people didn't usually _enjoy_ the torment they put others through.

_Toss that idea._

No, Maggie decided, he was just an asshole. A jerk. A player. A tool. He was just one of those types of people that loved to hurt and annoy and torture people. He would never have friends, and he would never want them.

And there was simply nothing that could be done about that.

Maggie sighed.

How could she let this happen?

I mean _seriously?_

* * *

On the car ride home, it only took about 3 minutes for her mom to shut off the radio, pull off to the side of the road, and ask her what her deal was.

Being the antisocial girl that she was, Maggie resisted in spilling any more beans than she already had, but this was her mom. Not some I-wanna-be-your-friend-so-I-can-stab-you-in-the-back _Terry_.

So she spilled.

Might as well. She only had a few beans left, anyway.

"Sigh, okay. You know that guy at my school? The one who messes with me all the time?" Maggie asked.

Her mother thought for a second. "...The asshole?"

"Yeah, him." Maggie confirmed. "Well, I helped him pass his math test and-"

"Wait, wait, wait...you mean to tell me you_ helped_ this weasel? _Why?!"_

"The principal told me to help him," she explained. "Anyway, it seemed like we were getting along-"

"Wait." Her mother interrupted once more. "You mean to tell me that you actually started to consider him a friend? You didn't crush him?"

Maggie blinked. "Well no, but-"

"_No!_ See, I told you never to _do_ that!" Claire whined.

"GAH, you're no help at all!" Maggie threw her hands up.

They had been silent a few minutes when her mother said,

"Do you like him?"

The question caused Maggie's jaw to drop to the floor.

The very notion made her lurch in her seat. The idea! The_ audacity_ of some people!

"Wha- what? NO!"

Claire sighed. "I had a feeling this would happen," she chuckled.

Maggie couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Are you crazy?! That's_ insane!"_

"Aw, don't give me that crap," her mother waved her off. "I can see it in your eyes."

She started the engine back up.

She began to sing. "Maggie's got a boyfriend..."

_"Shut up,"_ Maggie demanded.

"Denial is the first step to love."

"Denial's the first step to everything," she muttered.

Her mother just laughed as she got back on the road.

Maggie loved her mother, but sometimes, she had it all wrong...

* * *

The only time Maggie saw Filkins after the 'library incident' was in class. It was the only place he couldn't avoid her.

Not that it mattered, though. It wasn't like she could talk to him or give him a piece of her mind unless they both showed up early, which Maggie was never able to do.

And man, it was so annoying hearing everyone talk about how much 'chemistry' there was between them! First Rachel, and then her mom...even principal Doppler made a comment about it! Even Danny! Her last hope!

After the library fiasco, rumors started to circulate around school. Before she could really even comprehend what was going on, Maggie became the victim of gossip. The few people that had witnessed what had happened that day were probably to blame; sure, they had seen the fight, but they didn't know the whole story.

And so, in a matter of not weeks, not days, but hours after Terry had punched Danny, the entire school had assumed it was over a girl. In this case, Maggie.

Maggie had nothing against these people for thinking the way they did (after all, everyone has an opinion) but it truly amazed her how so many people could see something that just wasn't there.

...But then again, maybe _she_ was the blind one...

Nah.

**A/N: I know this is kind of a short chapter, but don't worry. They'll get longer in the next couple of chapters. **

**Now that I've thought about it I think I _will_ do a batch post. It'll take a while to type everything up, but once I do I can just post it all at once, and then _you_ won't have to go back and re-read everything in order to understand what's going on XD**

**I think that once I have all of the chapters finished I'm gonna post a chapter a day. Or maybe not, I'm still deciding.**

**Gah, I don't know what I want! (╯°A°）╯︵ ┻━┻**

**'Till next time. ㈳5**


	11. Theory

**A/N: In THIS chapter: Maggie has to deal with meddlesome rumors, and develops a theory.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Drillbit Taylor.**

Chapter 11: Theory~

With all the talking that was going on, it was hard for Maggie to keep her head straight. 'Filkins' this, and 'Maggie' that. She almost believed the rumors herself.

Thankfully, Rachel respected her and shut up about it during lunch.

It didn't stop her from trying to steer the conversation in that direction every now and then, though. Danny was laidback as usual, and he wasn't one for gossip, so she didn't have to worry about him.

However, as the weeks progressed, Maggie became paranoid. She was almost certain that every whisper, every text, every note passed, every giggle was about her, _the girl Filkins was sweet on._

It was _very_ annoying.

* * *

Maggie finally snapped on the last day of October. At lunch, nonetheless.

Slamming her juice box on the table, she asked Rachel, "What_ is_ it that makes everyone think that we belong together? It's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!"

Rachel seemed almost happy with this outburst, like she was finally allowed to talk about the one big secret that she promised never to tell.

"Well, you know, it's just...obvious, is all." She replied, trying to sound indifferent as she sipped from her straw.

Maggie made a loud 'tsk', resting her fist on her chin and knitting her brows in thought. "...Like_ what?"_ She asked, unintentionally snapping at her friend.

"Oh, you know...boys tease girls they like...they mess with their hair...they go out of their way to spend time with them...let's see, what else...oh! And they talk to them! _Lots_ and lots of talking." She winked.

Maggie couldn't believe this. She was taking everything out of context!

_Tease?_ Try _bully_.

_Mess_ with hair? Try pulling. Painfully.

And_ spending time with them?_ Yeah, so he could make it into the next grade!

...Or, you know, make it out of school...never mind.

Maggie looked to Danny for help. "It's true." He said, taking Rachel's side.

Maggie banged her head on the table. "Whatever..."

Rachel patted her shoulder.

"We haven't even been _spending_ any time together for 2 whole weeks," Maggie protested, but she knew - with Rachel's way of thinking - she was grasping at straws.

"Cheer up, Mags! All couples go through this. Your time apart just means that you're both trying to sort out your feelings for each other."

Was that supposed to make her _feel_ better?

"Everyone knows avoidance is the 3rd step in love!" Rachel continued.

"What's the second?" Maggie asked, her voice muffled by the table.

"Pig-headedness." Rachel replied.

Maggie grumbled as she continued to eat her meal.

* * *

The bell rang.

"I _really_ don't think you know what you're talking about..." Maggie shook her head as she got up.

"And_ I_ think you should pay more attention." Rachel shot back smugly, following suit.

"Pfft. Fine! I will! And I _guarantee_ you I won't find anything!"

"Alright, good!"

"Yeah!"

"Okay!"

"Fine!"

"See you after class!"

"You too!"

* * *

Maggie sat with Danny after school, who was waiting for Rachel on the entrance steps.

She playfully nudged his shoulder.

"I can't believe you sided with _Rachel_." She said lightheartedly.

Danny tilted his head from side to side, pondering his answer. "Yeah, well...not everyone would kick the _shit_ outta someone for sitting next to their _friend_-girl." He said easily.

"Speaking of which, I don't wanna get in trouble..." he scooted away from her.

Maggie rolled her eyes. "Oh, _stop_ it, you sound like Rachel."

Danny chuckled. "No, _you _sound like Rachel. 'Oh, _stop it!_'"

They laughed.

"...You just caught him on a bad day, you know." She said after a few moments of silence.

Danny scoffed. "_Every_ day's a bad day with him. And the fact that you can even tell the difference says a lot." He implied, touching her shoulder and giving her a funny look.

Maggie gave a tight-lipped smile, trying to contain the laugh that threatened to escape her mouth.

"A_ lot_," he said again, hoping for a reaction.

She pursed her lips.

"A _LOT_!" He repeated, adding a goofy look.

She couldn't take it anymore.

Maggie burst into a fit of laughter, along with Danny.

"Okay, okay, so it's not _entirely_ crazy to think that he...we...you know. But what if I liked someone else? What if I liked you, for example. What would you say?" She asked, traces of laughter still evident in her voice.

Danny looked out at the parking lot, crossing his hands behind his head. "I would say...go for it..._and_ that you have _excellent_ taste." He replied, turning his head to give her a dashingly handsome expression.

She laughed again.

"Okay. What if I liked Filkins?"

"I would say be _careful_ but go for it."

"What if I liked Emmit?"

"I would say good luck explaining the age-difference to your _parents_ but go for it."

"Ronnie?"

"I would say I hope he doesn't _crush_ you but go for it."

"David?"

"Who, the emo? Sure, if you're up for running a 24/7 suicide hotline."

"Ryan?"

"Go for it."

"Wade?"

"Go for it."

"Jacob?"

"Okay, now we're just getting weird."

They laughed again.

"Hey guys, whatcha doin'?" Rachel chimed in from behind, trotting down the steps to meet them.

"Ah, nothin'," Danny dismissed. "Just Maggie's taste in men." He finished, smirking at said person.

Rachel's face brightened. "You mean she finally admits that she likes him too?!"

Danny squinted his eyes and held his hand out, tilting it from side to side. "Eh...hypothetically."

Her shoulders sagged. "Oh...well, are you ready?"

Danny stood up. "Yep. You riding with us, Mags?"

Maggie blinked. "Oh, um..."

"_Yes_, she_ is_, Danny. Is that a _problem?"_ Rachel cut in, placing her hands on her hips.

"No, I just wanted to make sure-"

"Make sure what? That you didn't have to move some of your_ junk_ out of the way first?" Rachel challenged.

"Ooh, BURN!" Danny exclaimed, giving her a high five. "I'm impressed," he complimented, praising her verbal put-down.

"Thank you." she smiled brightly. "Come on, Maggie! We'll make room for you!"

Maggie didn't bother deciphering the strange turn the conversation had just taken.

Instead, she unrooted herself from her spot, and followed Rachel to the truck.

* * *

After being dropped off at her place, Maggie went straight to her room. She did her homework, ate, and got ready for bed.

She stayed up half the night just thinking about Rachel's words. 'Pay attention,' she'd said.

Pfft. She paid attention. She paid _plenty_ of attention! Just...not to herself.

* * *

So, that night, Maggie paid attention to everything that had happened between Terry and herself (everything she could remember, anyway), starting with the beginning of the school year.

She replayed every look, every shove, every comment, every conversation, every gesture, and every passing in her mind, looking for little things, subtle signs (particularly the ones Rachel had mentioned) that her friend was right and that she, sadly, was wrong.

The more she remembered, the more she analyzed, the more she 'paid attention', Maggie came to the unfathomable conclusion that Rachel may have been right. That in a strange, crazy, twisted way, she did in fact know what she was talking about.

Maybe Filkins really did like her...

Not that it would matter. It wasn't like she liked him. Sure, he was pretty cute, but liking someone solely for their physical features (which they had no control over) was overrated.

And yes, she thought he could be pretty funny, in his own sarcastic, ironic, twisted way, and she had to say she was impressed with his conversational (or rather, argumentative) wit; he could hold his own in a fight with words, she'd give him that.

And even though she didn't really mind being around him anymore (she blamed principal Doppler for that one), she still couldn't say she liked him...well okay, she could...ah, who was she trying to kid? She did like him. Just...not like_ that._

...Agh, this was screwing with her head.

* * *

After considering the various possibilities that this newfound knowledge presented, Maggie formed a fairly sound theory surrounding Filkins.

She just had to test it.

It wasn't foolproof, but it would definitely work. And she was _so_ going to find out whether he liked her or not, and put an end to all of this nonsense once and for all-

"Honey! Time for bed!"

-tomorrow. She'd find out. One way or another.

Tomorrow...

**A/N: Yet another early, out-of-sync update.**

**I don't expect anyone to remember this, but 'Jacob' was the guy at the skate park back in the chapter 'Intermission' :P**

**Anyway, the next chapter will FINALLY have some MaggiexFilkins interaction! As in, not talking, lol XD**

**IMPORTANT: I have decided that I WILL, INDEED do a batch post. Therefore, I will not be updating for awhile, as I still have to type up 6 more chapters (I've already finished a few) so don't expect an update on Friday. I might, but I doubt it will be that fast.**

**When I'm done perfecting everything, I will post all of the remaining chapters at once so you guys can read straight through without having to worry about forgetting what happened in the last chapter.**

**See you in an estimated (hopefully sooner) 2 weeks :D**

**'Till next time! ㈳5**


	12. Test

**A/N: Woo, I'm back! 8D I just BARELY made the deadline I set for myself (2 weeks) so I'm happy, lol. You'll probably want to go back and read the last chapter so this all makes sense again, though. Just saying. **

**In THIS chapter: Maggie's tired, and gets to test her theory.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Drillbit Taylor.**

Chapter 12: Test~

Maggie was very tired when she woke up the next day, though she couldn't really complain; she _had_ stayed up half the night, after all.

By the time she got to school, everything was a blur. But she knew she had groggily gotten out of bed, got dressed, eaten, brushed her teeth and hair, grabbed her book bag, and hopped the bus to get there...at least she thought so.

I mean, she didn't really remember...ah, never mind.

* * *

As Maggie sat in history class, she was only vaguely aware of Filkins behind her. Of course, this meant that she wasn't paying any attention (why did that sound so important?) to the lesson currently being taught. But no matter, it didn't sound too important anyway.

She could just copy Rachel's notes if things got really bad.

* * *

Maggie put all of her energy into staying awake and, when class ended, shifted that energy into feeling happy that lunch was here. She went through the lunch line in a daze, grabbing this and that, not really aware of her surroundings, and somehow found herself seated in between Danny and Rachel.

She didn't touch her food, instead opting to sleep on Danny's shoulder until lunch ended.

* * *

She was jerked awake by Rachel, who was telling her that lunch was over. Probably, anyway. She couldn't really focus on her voice at first.

"Hey, you okay? You've been dead as a tree since you sat down." Rachel asked.

Maggie rubbed her eyes. "Trees are alive," She mumbled in reply.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "You _know_ what I mean. Anyway, what's up with you?"

Maggie looked at her, still tired. "I stayed up all night thinking about-" she stopped, suddenly aware of her mission today. That was it! She remembered what she had to do!

"Okay...thinking about what?" Rachel questioned after moments of silence.

Oh, right. "Uh, I was thinking about your stupid theory," she replied, yawning and getting up.

Her friend's face lit up. "I am sooo proud of you!" She clapped her hands together. "But uh, yeah. Like I said, lunch is over, we gotta go, aaaand we'll talk later. Okay?"

"Okay," Maggie agreed, now wide awake.

She watched as Rachel practically skipped off to class, Danny not far behind.

Now that she remembered why today was so important, Maggie shifted gears.

It was time to get serious.

* * *

The day seemed extra slow for some reason, probably because Maggie was in such a hurry...maybe, she didn't know.

She kind of just put herself on auto-pilot for the rest of her classes while she retreated to the back of her mind to think about how she was going to execute her plan, vaguely aware of Terry's lingering presence.

Should she just ask? Nah, he'd just deny everything and call her crazy.

Should she ask Ronnie? No, he would probably just look at her like she was a weirdo and avoid her, and possibly tell Terry, and that would blow everything. Not good.

Maybe she could dig through his locker when no one else was around? Eh, guys didn't keep diaries. Hmm...

A sudden idea came to her that was so straightforward, so simple - she daresay it was madness - that it could most definitely work, and that was the important thing. Better than all her other ideas, anyway.

She just needed to get him alone.

The cogs in her mind began furiously formulating a plan of action so devious, _none_ would see it coming!

As her brain whirred at full speed, Maggie inwardly chuckled to herself at the thought of such an innocently oblivious Terry, unaware that she was planning what very well could be his downfall, not 3 feet behind her.

This was gonna be good.

* * *

She looked everywhere. She started with detention (naturally) and ended up wandering out to the parking lot. His car was still there, so he couldn't be far.

She would have asked Ronnie, but he was already gone. Plus, judging from the heated conversation she had seen him having earlier that day with Alexandria, he probably wouldn't have been in the mood to talk anyway.

So, Maggie ended up wandering the school grounds, checking all the places he could possibly be. No dice. She needed to rest, to think.

She began making her way to the library. As she rounded the corner to her destination, she paused in the doorway.

There he was!

Filkins.

His back was to her, and upon further inspection, she noticed something.

He was sitting in his chair. The one they used for studying.

At _their_ table.

She couldn't see his face, but his posture looked almost...depressed?

Maggie watched as he scared some kid out of trying to sit in the seat next to him.

_Her_ seat...

Dangit, Rachel _did_ know what she was talking about.

_'Nothing's been proven yet, though,'_ she reassured herself.

She watched as Filkins abruptly got out of his seat, slinking off into a random book aisle.

Now was her chance.

* * *

Being as quiet as she could be, Maggie sauntered up behind the nearest aisle, peeking around the corner to spy Filkins turning a corner. She followed, looking in between the open spaces in between books to make sure he wasn't looking behind him.

He made a left, heading for the back.

Maggie hid around the corner.

She peeked around to catch his profile glaring angrily at the rows of books propped against the wall in front of him.

This was just too perfect. It was quiet, there was no one around, they were alone...

No time for cold feet now.

Ignoring the mild butterflies in her stomach, Maggie emerged from her hiding place, marching up to him. He looked over at her, brows furrowed - in irritation or confusion, she wasn't sure - but he hardly had the time to recognize her, let alone comprehend what was happening, as she cupped his face in her hands (gently, of course) and kissed him.

* * *

She kept their lips pressed together for 5 agonizingly long seconds before pulling away to gauge his reaction.

When she did, she almost wished she hadn't. Filkins' expression was so...warped? His mouth hung open, his eyebrows crinkled, his eyes bulged, and he had backed as far away as he could from her, which happened to be against the book-lined wall behind him.

Maggie couldn't tell if he was angry, shocked, disgusted, surprised, or all of the above. So, she waited for him to speak, her cheeks flaming all the while.

And waited.

And waited.

...Wow. Was he seriously not going to say anything? She gave him one last chance to say _something_ \- anything, really - and when he didn't, she rolled her eyes angrily, let out an irritated sigh, and left.

**A/N: Yes, it finally happened XD It took 12 long chapters but they finally kissed. Lol.**

**We have to deal with the awkward aftermath now, of course, but don't worry, there'll be more to come. _Much_ more ;)**

**'Till next time. ㈳5 ...Oh wait. Ha, there's no need for that anymore XD**


	13. Revert

**A/N: In THIS chapter: Maggie vents, Terry contemplates, Maggie dreads, Terry confronts Maggie, Maggie gets mad, and Terry is too young for all this...I think that's about it :/**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Drillbit Taylor.**

Chapter 13: Revert~

After getting home, Maggie called Rachel to vent. She told her everything, from the stalking to the leaving. Every last detail.

"Your theory was wrong. He doesn't like me like that." She told her.

"Well, did you think that just _maybe_ he was so shocked he didn't know how to react?" replied Rachel, ever the optimist. "I mean, if someone cornered _me_ in a library and kissed me senseless, that's how _I_ would've reacted."

Maggie sighed. "Yeah, but you're not a guy."

"True, but I still think you came on too strong."

This really wasn't helping...well, it was, just not in the way she wanted it to. She had called to get all of her frustration out, which she supposed she did, but now she was trying to get her head together, something she couldn't really do with Rachel putting all these random thoughts on the table.

She needed to think.

"Uh, look, I gotta go." Maggie said, hoping she hadn't inadvertently cut her friend off in the middle of a sentence.

"Okay. Let me know when you get your head together." Rachel replied easily.

Click.

"Right..." Maggie said to herself.

* * *

Filkins lay on his bed, repeatedly tossing his keys into the air. His head was so screwed up right now. Really, he didn't know _what_ to think. I mean..._what the hell was that?!_ Did she just wake up one morning and decide she was gonna scare the shit out of him?

Terry thought back to the 'incident'. He only saw her face for a split second, but she looked...determined? Why?

_'Maybe it was a dare,'_ he reasoned. But then again, she didn't seem like the type of person to do that stuff...at least, nothing _that_ drastic. It had to be something else.

She had done it on purpose, that much was certain. I mean, how many people 'tripped' and fell on your lips? _Really?_

She hadn't looked too happy, either. Maybe she did it because she was mad at him? But then, why would you kiss someone you were mad at? That just didn't make any sense. But then again, girls were weird, so maybe it did make sense?

Gah...

Terry stopped tossing his keys. This was the reason he quit hanging around her! She made his head hurt from thinking so damn much...

He sighed, resting an arm over his eyes.

Come to think of it, all this stuff started happening right after his math test...was she pissed _because_ he quit hanging around her? He would think she'd be happy. I mean, he didn't bully or mess with her anymore. Wasn't that a plus?

Er, not that he cared about her happiness or anything. Just saying.

Let's see, what else?

Filkins mentally replayed everything that had happened in the past week, looking for clues that might explain Maggie's crazy-ass behavior. Of course, he found nothing.

What was her problem?

* * *

Terry thought back to yesterday, just before he had decided to go to the library. On his way out of the men's room, he had overheard a couple of chicks talking - well, gossiping - about some other girl in the women's bathroom.

He hadn't paid much attention at first, but he was fairly certain he'd caught something along the lines of this:

"Can you _believe_ her?"

"I know! What does she think? That he'll stop messing with her if she _sleeps_ with him?"

"Yeah, I know, right? What a slut. And besides, if anyone deserves to have him, it's _me_."

"Totally. He may be a bully, but he's _way_ too cute for _her_."

...Or something like that. More or less. Anyway, back to the issue at hand.

Terry thought about what those girls - more or less - had said. Were they talking about Maggie? He knew rumors had been floating around recently, mostly about him and some other...oh, God.

Putting 2 and 2 together, he realized that all of the rumors and gossip over the past few weeks had been about him and _Maggie_.

Terry sat up at this epiphany, the cogs in his brain still turning.

Wait. Maggie? And him? Together?! Where the hell did they get that idea? It's not like they'd ever been caught _doing_ anything...

_'Tutor sessions,'_ his brain reminded him.

Oh.

Right.

Damn.

* * *

Okay, so apparently the entire student body had it in their heads that he and Maggie had the hots for each other...or something. But _surely_ they knew by now that Terry Filkins didn't _do_ girlfriends. Didn't want 'em, didn't need 'em. Too much trouble. Not to mention all the work and upkeep.

Just..._no_.

And he could only imagine all the shit that Maggie was going through right now. Whatever reputation she had was surely trashed by now...hey. Wait a second. Was that why she kissed him? To sully his badass reputation by weighing him down with a 'relationship'?

But if that were the case, why would she do it in a library? Where no one was around?

But it couldn't be anything else. There was no other reason he could think of, so that had to be it.

Now he was mad.

How dare she! Did she honestly think she could win against him? He could break that pretty face in a second!

Wait, did he just say pretty?

...Damnit!

Terry got up from his bed, heading outside. He needed some fresh air.

* * *

Once he got outside, Terry sat on his small concrete porch. His intention was to let all of his anger and frustration pass.

So, he sat and waited.

* * *

For 2 hours.

* * *

...Damn, this really wasn't working.

Terry, fed up with all this 'fresh air', got up and went back inside to get ready for bed.

He didn't want to sound like some stupid little kid, but...damnit, it was all her fault! He wouldn't _be_ in this situation if she hadn't pulled that little stunt in the library. Now he was all confused because of that little...that little..._temptress!_

Oh, that bitch was gonna pay. And he couldn't _wait_ until Monday rolled around.

Terry turned out the lights and climbed into bed. He needed a break from all these _feelings._

He sighed.

_Chicks didn't make any sense..._

* * *

Maggie lay in bed, trying (and failing) to get some shut eye. Although, seriously, how _could_ she sleep? She had just kissed the high school bully, the 'big bad' of McKinley High, and walked away like it was nothing!

Sure, no one was really around to see it, but still; _big_ deal.

And she was still trying to make sense of it all. Just as she was about to make her final decision and decide that Filkins just didn't like her that way, _Rachel_ came along and jumbled her way of thinking.

Sometimes, Maggie felt like a grown-up trying to put together a 1,000 piece puzzle, and just as she was about to put in the final piece, _she_ would come along and mess everything up.

But maybe that was a good thing.

Maybe Maggie's linear way of thinking _needed_ scrambled every now and then...eh, never mind.

* * *

She thought back to the 'incident' and Terry's reaction to it. She supposed that walking up to someone and kissing them out of the blue _would_ startle them. Rachel made sense there. But Maggie thought he would at least _say_ something, like, _'What the hell is your problem?',_ or, _'Are you crazy?'_ Or even a simple, _'I don't like you,'_ would have been nice.

Well, not nice, but it would have helped in sorting her thoughts out.

And she really didn't want to admit it (although she wouldn't lie if anyone asked) but she was actually kind of disappointed in his reaction. Was she really that repulsive? Certainly not.

Maybe Rachel was right, maybe he really _did_ like her and he was just too flabbergasted to say anything. Maybe she had sent him into shock...nah.

He'd recover.

Though, she had to say, she wasn't looking forward to Monday. I mean, _he_ didn't know what she was doing. For all he knew, she was just trying to humiliate him.

That's probably what he thought, too. Bastard.

But amidst all this, it wasn't the possibility of impending doom or humiliation from school in 3 days that disturbed Maggie; she could handle all that. It was the fact that she cared - actually, genuinely cared - about what Filkins would say about 'it' to her. She cared about his opinion of her, she cared about what he thought, cared about what he would say.

And _that_ scared the crap out of her.

* * *

Despite everything she did to slow it down, Monday finally came. Maggie was very anxious, but her expression and the way she carried herself gave no hints to such things.

She made her way to history class, keeping an eye out for Filkins on the way.

* * *

When she got there, she saw that his seat was empty. Weird, he was always there before her. She wasn't stupid, though. She knew this wasn't a good sign. She wasn't entirely sure what it meant, but she knew it wasn't good.

As Maggie made her way to her seat, a couple of snobby blondes gave her a dirty look.

O-_kaaay_. That was weird.

She settled into her seat, and waited for the teacher to begin.

Just then, Filkins walked in. His hood was up and his head was down, but she was almost certain she saw a faint smile on his lips as he walked past her.

Maybe she didn't have to worry. Maybe he wasn't mad at all. Heck, maybe Rachel was right. Maybe-

Maggie bit her lip to keep from yelping as her hair was nearly separated from her scalp.

Never mind.

* * *

She couldn't believe it. She hadn't known what she was expecting, but it wasn't this.

Over the past 5 days, Maggie had undergone the worst school week of her life. Not only had Filkins proven himself to be a true _asshole_, but he had given her the worst bullying of her life.

She wasn't gonna lie, she was still glad she wasn't Ryan or Wade (or Emmit, for that matter) but it was still pretty bad.

In fact, it made the first 2 weeks of school look like a picnic. A crummy, cloudy, hot, ant-ridden picnic, but a picnic nonetheless.

Everything was 3 times as bad as it was before.

Instead of pulling on her hair, he literally yanked it out. Strand by strand. By the end of the second day, Maggie put an elastic band in for fear of losing all her hair.

Instead of giving her an evil mischievous look when they passed each other in the halls, he would shove her to the ground and kick her books out of reach.

Instead of glaring at her from across the cafeteria, he would sit a few tables away, eat, then dump his leftovers on her lap.

He even broke her iPod!

Needless to say, Maggie started bringing an extra change of clothes to school. She was considering a waterproof book bag as well, as he had tried sabotaging her work on more than one occasion.

It was getting harder and harder to see things from Rachel's point of view.

* * *

It was Tuesday now. She was only in the second week of torture and her patience, her passiveness, her tolerance, her very _being_ had worn thin. Apparently she was all wrong about him, her and Rachel both.

Filkins _wasn't_ halfway decent on the inside, he _wasn't_ a good friend, he _didn't_ care about anyone, he _wasn't_ nice once you got to know him, he _didn't_ like her, and he never _would_ do, think, or say any of those things...why was that so disappointing?

Maggie never was one to cry, and she sure as hell wasn't about to start now. Not over Filkins, not over bullying, not over school, not over anything. If anything, she was just...mad. She was mad about...well, everything. School, life, herself...but mostly Terry.

_He_ was the source of all this.

* * *

After school had ended for the day, Maggie headed back to the crime scene: the library. Half because she needed to cool down before she had to ride home with Rachel and Danny, and half because she half expected Terry to be there so she could give him half her mind.

* * *

It may have looked perfectly innocent, but Maggie felt that the entire area needed to be sealed off with caution tape. She was standing in the same spot she and Terry had been in at the time of the 'incident'. If she could only go back in time, she never would have done it.

...Well, scratch that. If it made him uncomfortable in any way, _and_ managed to screw up his brain by the time he got home, she would gladly do it again, if only to exact revenge.

As she was caught up in her thoughts, a voice broke the silence.

"Reminiscing, are we?"

Maggie turned.

_Filkins_.

* * *

She could have shot a snarky comeback at him, could've punched him square in the face, could've just walked away, really. But she didn't. She was too determined to get to the bottom of this.

Ignoring his question, Maggie said, "What's your problem?"

Filkins lazily strolled closer, hands stuffed in the pockets of his hoodie, and scoffed a laugh. "What do you mean?"

Maggie's brows knit together, already frustrated with him. "You know what I mean. You've been a total _asshole_ with a capital 'A' for the past week and I wanna know why."

He was standing in front of her now, that stupid fake smile plastered on his face."I think you _know_ why," he added in false tenderness, "_Maggie_."

She looked up at him, staring him down...well, trying to. "What, you mean that kiss? Look, if that's what this is about, then don't worry. It was..." she paused, searching for the right words. "Strictly educational."

Terry momentarily threw his head back. "Ha! Gimme a break! What's educational about_ sucking face_ with your study-buddy?" He leaned closer to her, carelessly invading her private space, his expression changing from amused to mocking.

Of course he had to be a smartass about everything.

"You know what, you probably couldn't get it through your _thick_ _skull_ anyway," Maggie spat.

She tried to leave, but Filkins sidestepped her, blocking her exit.

"Oh, no, please. _Stay_ awhile." He shoved her back against the wall of books, cornering her. "_Try_ me," he said, no longer smiling.

Maggie resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Great. At least he wasn't beating around the bush. He seemed to want to get some answers just as much as she did. He must have been just as confused as she was.

She sighed in place of her eye roll. Here goes nothing.

"My friend told me you liked me. I'm sure you've heard the rumors." When he said nothing, she continued. "I didn't believe her, but I wanted to find out for myself, so I kissed you."

Silence...

Apparently he expected her to say something else, even though there was nothing more to say.

"...That's it. End of story." She said.

It was silent for a good 20 seconds, so Maggie took that as her cue to leave.

"You know..."

Or not. Terry wrapped a hand around her neck and guided her back to her previous spot. He was surprisingly gentle. "I honestly can't _believe_ you'd be that deluded." He finished, a ghost of a smirk on his lips.

His hand was still on her neck, applying just enough pressure to keep her there.

Maggie, however, didn't give a shit.

She looked him straight in the eye, and said, "And_ I_ can't believe I ever considered you a friend."

Whatever smile that was playing at his lips had vanished, and with nothing more to say, Maggie wrenched herself out of his grip, and left.

* * *

Terry stood there, stunned as he watched her retreating figure. He looked to the floor after she had gone, processing everything that had just happened.

He was broken away from his thoughts when he heard a cough.

Turning around, Terry saw a small audience had gathered at the end of the aisle.

Apparently they weren't as quiet as he'd thought.

* * *

On the drive home, Filkins couldn't help but feel like he had seriously screwed something up. Maggie had considered him a friend at one point. And he had to go and throw it all away, like some _douche_...he hated to say it, but he felt bad.

...But he _shouldn't _feel bad. He should feel happy! Or at least better than_ this! _

I mean they weren't _friends_ or anything. The only reason they spent time together in the first place was just so he could keep from being _suspended! Come on!_

But he _did _feel bad. And it made him feel bad that he felt bad in the first place.

* * *

At least he knew the real reason behind that kiss now; she had only done it to prove a point to her friend - probably that chick she hung around with at lunch all the time - and that she didn't like him and had no interest in him whatsoever, and wanted nothing to do with him now...why wasn't this helping?

Terry turned on the radio, hoping to find something to distract him from his thoughts.

_I thought we were just hanging out, so why'd you kiss me on the mouth-_

Click.

_I only wish you weren't my friend, then I could hurt you in the end-_

Click.

_All this time you were pretending, so much for my happy ending-_

Click.

_I know I hurt you, deserted you, and now I see it clear-_

Click.

_At the same time I wanna hug you, I wanna wrap my hands around your neck-_

Click.

_You showed your ass and I saw the real you, thank God you blew it, thank God I dodged a bullet-_

Click.

_But then I spent so many nights thinking how you did me wrong-_

Click

_When did your heart go missing-_

Damnit, seriously?! _Every_ station?! Sighing in frustration, he turned it off.

...

...

...

...I mean, it wasn't like she _meant_ anything to him...

...Right?

* * *

After Maggie left, she was even angrier than before she had walked into the library, so of course her mother was on her case by the time she got home.

She told her everything, as usual...well, almost everything. She left out some parts, like the neck grabbing and whatnot.

She expected her mother to jump to her side of the fence, like she had before. But, surprise-surprise, she did the exact opposite.

"You _sure_ you don't like him?" Claire asked, smirking.

Was that a serious question? Maggie opened her mouth to say yes, but she was cut off.

"Don't bullshit me, honey. Do you like him or not?" There was nothing malicious in her voice, her mom just wasn't one to beat around the bush...like Maggie!

Wait, no, that wasn't good...

Sighing, Maggie contemplated her reply.

Her instinct was to say no, but would that be a lie? She was pretty sure she didn't like him. Really. And she _sure_ as heck couldn't imagine a_ life _with him, even in an alternate universe.

But then again, that still didn't stop people from wondering or fantasizing about what it would be like if that certain person _were_ a part of their lives, no matter how absurd the very notion was.

...Ah, dang it. People didn't get disappointed about people they didn't care about. Seriously. Who was she trying to kid? Well, might as well be out with it.

Struggling a bit, Maggie found the courage to swallow her pride, and answered, "...Ugh, fine! _Yes_! _Yes_ I like him! Happy?"

Her mother smiled laughingly. "Ha! Yep, that'll do!"

Maggie huffed in embarrassment. "...That's it?" She asked.

"What's it?" Claire asked, stirring the vegetable soup she was making.

"Where's the all-powerful wisdom? Aren't you supposed to give me some sort of _advice_ at this point?" Maggie asked.

Her mother blinked. "Oh, yeah. That."

Maggie rolled her eyes.

"Call me crazy," her mother began. "But I think there was just a simple miscommunication."

"So you're saying you me want to," she air-quoted, "'talk' to him?"

"Might as well," her mother replied. "I mean, from what you've told me it's not like things could get any worse for you, right? Hahaha!" Maggie failed to see the humor as her mom repeatedly jabbed her in the ribs.

"...Sorry." she apologized.

"Ugh, you're _insane_..." groaned Maggie as she threw her head back.

"Whatever. Just be sure to patch things up next time you see him."

Ugh, she was never going to her mother for parental advice again...

* * *

Terry ended up speeding the rest of the way home. No matter what he did, he just couldn't stop thinking about Maggie, and the more he thought about Maggie the angrier he got, and the angrier he got the more he wanted to kill something.

He screeched to a halt in his driveway, turned the car off, slammed the door, went inside, and threw his keys as hard as he could across the room. Luckily they didn't hit anything but the wall, but he would like to think that he would've felt better if they had.

He walked into the kitchen and leaned over the counter, trying to overcome his growing urge to just _break_ something.

When he thought about it, it really didn't make any sense why he was mad. So she didn't like him, so what? It wasn't like he was heartbroken or anything.

Sure, she was pretty...well, pretty. She was pretty pretty.

And yeah, she had a nice smile.

And a cute laugh - not one of those fake irritating ones that most girls do around a guy they like.

And she had a strong (but soothing) voice, and he wouldn't particularly mind if she ever went on a rant, because he actually liked the sound of her voice.

And he liked her fiery personality - it had been a while since someone actually had the guts to stand up to him like that.

And she had nice skin.

And hair.

And soft hands.

And nice, white teeth.

And rich blue eyes.

And...

Dammit.

* * *

Maggie lay in bed, rolled over on her left side, staring at the clock that sat on her nightstand. As she mindlessly watched the second hand go round and round, she heard a loud screeching - like that of tires - outside.

_'Wonder who_ that _could be,'_ she thought sarcastically.

After her little pep talk with her mom, Maggie had to say that she actually felt a bit better about the whole thing. She never would have guessed that admitting to something you've been in complete denial of for so long would lift such a weight off of one's shoulders, especially something you weren't even sure existed.

Now there was the whole 'reconciliation' matter to attend to.

Her mom had made it sound so painlessly simple, but she knew it was far more complicated than that. She couldn't just walk up to him and say, _'Hey, man, I know we had a big fight the other day, but I want you to know I wanna wipe the slate clean. Oh, by the way, I like you'._

She sighed.

Besides, she didn't even know for sure if_ he_ liked_ her _or not. It sure didn't seem like it.

She continued to meditate on the subject of Filkins as she watched the second hand on her clock rotate 62 times.

* * *

An hour and two minutes later, Maggie decided that she wouldn't say anything about it at all. Filkins could go about his day doing whatever it was that he did (that didn't include messing with her, of course) and she would continue being the quiet wallflower with unrequited feelings. No big deal.

...Wow, that sounded pathetic.

But she wasn't gonna be a baby about it and sulk for the rest of the year, either. No, she was gonna be the same as she was before all this stuff happened.

And everything was gonna be just fine, or she wasn't Maggie Lovelace!

* * *

Terry was freaking out.

How could this happen?! When the hell did he start to have _feelings?_ And for _her_, nonetheless! He could admit that she was good-looking and all that - that was just a fact. But when it came to actually liking her, and not just her looks, he was at a loss.

He tried to imagine life without her, and upon realizing how bland it would be (even _with_ the Siamese Queers) he thought back to when she had kissed him and how much he _actually_ wanted to do it again, and that was about when his self-induced panic attack started.

Terry sat down on the living room couch, trying to keep himself from completely flipping out. What was he supposed to do now? Tell her he actually_ did_ like her and expect everything to be hunky-dory?

Was he supposed to just walk up and say, _'Oh, hey, I know we had a big fight the other day but I want you to know I wanna wipe the slate clean. Oh, by the way, I like you.'?_

_Hell_ no!

Maybe he didn't really like her. Maybe it was just all the rumors and gossip and lack of sleep getting to his head. That was more than possible. Yeah, he was probably just confused. But that still didn't explain all the damn moths in his stomach...wait, why didn't that sound right?

He thought about digging his phone out and calling Ronnie for some advice- er, trash talk, but figured he wouldn't answer. They hadn't really been spending a lot of time together, anyway. Mostly because of - as Ronnie had put it - 'lady problems'.

Filkins had laughed when he'd first said that - lady problems - but he totally understood now.

Only difference was, Ronnie had _fixed_ his girl problem - every time Terry turned around Ronnie was hanging with some blonde chick - and _he_ was still a mess with Maggie.

He spent an hour (maybe more) trying to come up with a solution to this problem, but in the end he just ended up angry at himself for being so stupid.

They had school tomorrow, too.

Should he just act like nothing happened? Go back to bullying her? Somehow he doubted that mentally abusing her every day would help beat the sense back into _him_, OR make him feel any better, for that matter.

In the end, he decided it would be best to stay away from Maggie. He didn't want to hurt her and that was pretty much the only excuse he had for going around her.

Plus, she confused the crap out of him. If she was out of the way, he might - MIGHT - have a chance at getting his head together.

He still needed a way to deal with his anger issues, but that was where the Siamese Queers came in.

Terry sighed a long, deep sigh, before turning out the light and passing out right there on the couch.

He was too young for this shit...

**A/N: MAN, this was a long chapter to type! Hopefully it seemed shorter due to all the breaks and segments I split it into, though.**

**Anyway, now that Terry and Maggie both have their feelings sorted out, it's only a matter of time before we get to see them together :D **

**Two chapters, in fact ;)**

**Songs mentioned in order of appearance (in case you were curious):**

**I Don't Give A Damn - Avril Lavigne**

**Snuff - Slipknot**

**My Happy Ending - Avril Lavigne**

**M.I.N.E (End This Way) - Five Finger Death Punch**

**True Love - P!nk**

**Best Thing I Never Had - Beyonce**

**I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor**

**When Did Your Heart Go Missing - Rooney**


	14. Invitation

**A/N: In THIS chapter: Filkins mysteriously stops messing with Maggie, there's a fight at lunch, Maggie helps out Alexandria and Ronnie (and Emmit), and Maggie and company are invited to a party (*wink wink*)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Drillbit Taylor**

Chapter 14: Invitation~

When Maggie went to school the next day, she didn't know what to expect. All she knew was how _she_ was going to act; she could say nothing for Filkins. On the way to school, everything _seemed_ normal; Terry's car was parked in its usual spot, so she knew he couldn't be at home freaking out.

When she walked into history class, Terry was already in his sea-

hey! No he wasn't!

Maggie stared at him as she made her way to her desk even though he wasn't looking at her. She sat down, continuing to stare.

Okay, something was definitely wrong here.

The seats were assigned, he couldn't just move!

Just then, Mr. Donald (the hillbilly substitute) walked in.

"Oh-kay, class. Some of you may notice that most of you brats aren't in your regular seats. Well, that's because I looked at the charts this morning and I thought: well, that is _just, plain, stupid!_ So, as of today, we are no longer assigning seats."

_What!?_ You can't just 'unassign' seats! That's preposterous!

Someone in the class voiced Maggie's silent opinion.

"You can't do that!"

Mr. Donald zeroed in on them. "And who are you, little miss 'I-know-everything'? Do you make the rules here? Are you a teacher? _No,_ didn't think so."

The girl was speechless.

Mr. Donald raised his hand in the shape of a gun, pointing at her. "Chk. Cop a squat, little girl."

And class awkwardly began.

* * *

At her next class, Filkins did the same thing. He sat as far away from her as he could manage, but upon further inspection Maggie noticed that (apparently) 'far away' meant right behind Emmit.

Apparently all the 'teachers' thought assigned seats were 'stupid'.

Noticing that their teacher hadn't shown up yet, Maggie took the chance to save her friend from certain doom.

"Hey, Emmit." She said as she walked up to his desk.

Emmit looked over at her. "Oh, hey! How are you?"

Ever the gentleman.

"Fine, fine," she answered, purposely ignoring Filkins. "Um, hey. Do you...wanna trade seats?"

Filkins twitched in her direction. Emmit seemed blind to this.

"Oh, no. I'm fine." He replied, smiling.

"Are you_ sure_ about that?" Maggie emphasized, giving a quick glance to the seat behind him.

Emmit's face looked questioning, but he turned around to see what she was talking about. His face paled as he came face to face with Filkins, who gave him a sickly sweet lopsided smile.

Emmit immediately turned back around, embarrassed at being caught. As predicted, he took Maggie up on her offer.

"Um...yeah. We can trade." He said, nodding furiously as he gathered up his books in a heap and scampered off to Maggie's previous spot.

Disaster avoided.

* * *

Maggie sat down - gross, it was warm - making sure not to look at Filkins. She heard him getting up out of his seat to move somewhere else, but the teacher walked in, so he sat back down.

She wondered if the reason he wasn't in his usual place (somewhere behind her, that is) was because he wanted nothing to do with her anymore. And if that was the case...

Behaving in an almost too-casual manner, Maggie experimentally let her hair down.

* * *

All throughout class, Filkins never touched her. Not once. Never did she feel a pull, tug, yank, or brush on her hair. It was actually pretty nice, but oddly enough, she was kind of disappointed.

And she wasn't sure if that was a good thing.

* * *

Everything went fine all throughout the rest of her classes.

Up until English came.

Unfortunately, on the way into the classroom Filkins had already beat her to the seat behind Emmit's, and Mr. Taylor was already starting class.

Dangit.

* * *

After about ten minutes of near-pointless lecturing, Mr. Taylor had all of the students read from their textbooks as he lounged at Ms. Zachey's desk reading who-knew-what. And everything was nice and quiet.

Too quiet.

Maggie spared a glance over in Terry's direction. He had a wad of chewed up bubblegum in his hands, stretching it out as he leaned forward to place it in Emmit's hair. She watched in silent horror as Filkins' bubblegum-laden palms slowly eased toward the back of Emmit's head.

Her arm was itching to shoot up and grab Mr. Taylor's attention, but just as she was about to, he was already getting up from his seat.

"Mr. Filkins," he said, lifting his feet off of Ms. Zachey's desk. "Would you please come up here and read..." he looked at the cover of the book he was reading. "Contemporary Romance Poems of the Renaissance?"

Filkins begrudgingly slid out of his seat and stalked up to the front of the class, and Maggie couldn't help but wonder were he'd hidden that gum.

* * *

As it turns out, Contemporary Romance Poems of the Renaissance was a collection of short sex novels.

As you can imagine, Filkins was laughed at by pretty much everyone in class.

Everyone but Maggie, that was. It wasn't that she didn't find the whole scene humorous - in fact, it was hilarious - but she knew that when he was humiliated, Terry would go out of his way to hunt down whoever had dared open their mouths in front of him.

This whole class was doomed.

* * *

Despite the odd turn of events the day had taken, lunch was when things got really weird. It was an uncharacteristically nice day out, so everyone was eating outside.

Maggie, Rachel, and Danny had sat down and were eating peacefully when Wade walked up to an Asian girl and her friends that were sitting a few tables away.

She couldn't tell exactly what was being said (what with all the chatter going on around her) but it looked like he was asking her out.

She looked like a nice girl. She'd probably say yes.

Things were looking pretty good.

Until she saw Ronnie and Filkins walking towards Wade with shaken-up soda cans in their hands.

Just as the girl was about to reply to whatever Wade had said, Filkins and Ronnie threw their sodas onto their table, watching in glee as they were soaked in brown liquid.

Terry sauntered up to Wade laughing, putting an arm around his shoulder and saying something that was no doubt a sarcastic wisecrack.

The girl -Brooke! Now she remembered! - said something to Filkins, probably telling him to leave them alone.

By now, all of the chatter had died down, allowing Maggie to hear clearly what Filkins said back.

"What'd you say, ho?"

Well that wasn't very nice.

Apparently Wade didn't think so either.

As Terry was walking away, Wade grabbed him roughly by the shoulder and spun him around to shout in his face.

At this point, everyone had gotten out of their seats to crowd around the two young boys, including Danny and Rachel, who drug Maggie out of her seat to go join them. They were still kind of far away, and she certainly couldn't see much because of all of the other people - and her shortness, but that's besides the point - but she heard Terry shout, very clearly,

"Everybody listen up! Party at my house tonight! I want you ALL to come see me beat the shit outta these nerds! It's gonna be _hilarious!"_

Maggie struggled to see, but alas, she was too short.

She heard Wade reply, equally loud,

"Oh, you're on, 'brother'! And I will _see you there!"_

The crowd diminished to only a few people, revealing Ryan and Emmit running up to Wade. Filkins must have left, because he was nowhere to be seen.

Danny returned to their table, Rachel dragging her along.

Well.

She knew where she _wasn't_ gonna be tonight.

* * *

After school let out, Maggie made her way down the front steps to the parking lot to wait by Danny's truck so she and Rachel could ride home together.

As she cleared the first flight of stairs, she noticed Emmit sitting on the bottom steps. What was he doing here?

"Hey," Maggie greeted as she sat down beside him.

"Hi." Emmit replied, smiling in his usual dorky way.

After a few seconds of silence, she cut straight to the chase. "So where's Ryan and Wade? I thought you guys were going to the party tonight."

Emmit scoffed. _"They_ are. _I_ am staying _right. Here."_

Say _what?_ Those guys were practically velcroed to each other! ...Er, and not because of the what happened on the first day of school.

Never mind.

"W-what? Aren't you guys friends?"

Another scoff. "I _thought_ we were. That is until Wade signed our _death warrant!"_

...Oh.

She was starting to get it now.

"Wait, so...you're not going to help them?" She asked, smiling slightly in disbelief.

Emmit stuttered in his response. "W-well, I...just don't...wa-wanna get killed, is all. I-I'm not _abandoning_ them, haha." He stared nervously at her, eyes darting from her to the ground.

Maggie raised her eyebrows at him. "It sounds like you're ditching them in their time of need to me."

"Yeah, well...well I..._oh whatever."_ Emmit got up and walked off, hurrying over to his mom's car.

"Just think about it!" Maggie shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth.

* * *

As she watched them drive off, she felt a presence behind her. She twisted around.

It was Alexandria.

She looked very awkward, like she'd been standing there for awhile but was too afraid to say anything.

"Hi." Maggie said gently.

This seemed to snap her out of her trance.

"Oh. Hi."

A pause.

"...Can I sit with you?" The blonde asked, putting an unsure foot forward.

"Sure, I don't see why not." Maggie replied, moving her book bag out of the way.

Alexandria sat next to her.

A good three feet away.

She felt stupid for moving her bag.

And so, the two engaged in an awkward silence. Well, awkward for Alexandria. Maggie was perfectly content with waiting for the other girl to say whatever it was she wanted to say. She knew she wouldn't have to wait long.

...

...

...

"...Can I ask you something?"

See?

Maggie couldn't stop the sarcastic comment that just _begged_ for this moment.

"You just did."

The blonde blinked. Apparently she didn't get the joke.

"...Yeah, go ahead." Maggie encouraged, covering her blunder.

Alexandria exhaled deeply before beginning.

"Okay. Well, I noticed you spend- _spent_, a lot of time with Filkins..."

"...Okay. So?"

"So, I thought you'd be the best person to ask..."

Ohhh, okay. Now she got it.

"About Ronnie?" Maggie finished.

Alexandria looked down. "Yeah."

Silence.

"...Well, so what's the problem?" Maggie asked finally, glancing at her.

"Well, he told me that he loved me, and-"

"Wait wait wait wait wait wait _wait_. _Liked?_ Or _loved?"_ Maggie interrupted.

"Loved," the blonde clarified. "But the problem is that I already have a boyfriend. He's really nice..." she trailed off.

Maggie broke the silence before it got awkward again. "Well...so, do you love _him?"_

The other girl began fidgeting with her skirt. "Yeah. I think so..."

"And what? You're worried about...?"

"Matt." The girl clarified.

"Matt, right. So, you're worried about Matt having his heart smashed in two-" she stopped herself at the look of unabashed discomfort at her 'violent' description. "But the way I see it, if he can't respect that you like someone else and leave on good terms, he wasn't worth it anyway." She finished, looking out at the parking lot.

Alexandria was quiet a moment. "Hm. Thanks." She smiled slightly.

Wow. This girl didn't make a lick of sense.

She must have been one of those people that needed to have the answers to their problems told to them by someone else, even when said answer was right in front of them. Maggie really couldn't understand people like that, but whatever.

Alexandria stood up from her spot next to Maggie, smiled, and just as her father pulled up, walked out to the curb, and left.

* * *

Maggie hadn't been alone two minutes when Ronnie bounded out from the school entrance and flew down the steps. He skidded to a halt at the curb.

Was he looking for who she _thought_ he was looking for?

Maggie was impressed at how quickly he was able to come to a stop; she hadn't even known he was there until he had flown past her - he must've skipped half the steps - and he was so huge that she couldn't comprehend how the force of all that weight could come to such an abrupt stop.

He didn't even notice Maggie until he had spun around in a total 360.

Giving her a double-take, Ronnie's face lit up in what appeared to be hope, and putting a step forward, said, "Hey. Hey, you're that girl, right?"

Gee, what a great way to start a conversation.

When she didn't answer right away, he asked, "Hey, you seen Alexandria?

Maggie wasn't quite sure she should tell him. She figured Alexandria was safe at home, wherever that was, but she also figured that if she _really_ wanted him to know where she was, he wouldn't be asking right now.

But at the same time, if the young blonde loved him - or whatever - then it shouldn't really be a problem. Besides. She wasn't a liar.

"Yes." Maggie replied after the longest while.

He must have known about her sarcasm - probably from Terry - because he asked, "..._Recently_, right?"

Maggie nodded. "Yeah."

Ronnie was almost immediately in her face, desperation clear in his features."Where'd she go?" He asked urgently, shaking her slightly.

Maggie was a little surprised (or maybe shocked, she couldn't tell) but she answered nonetheless.

"She's on her way home with her dad."

Ronnie's head jerked forward, almost headbutting Maggie, as he cursed to himself. "Dammit!" He hung his head, still clutching Maggie's arms.

Awkwardly, she stiffly reached a hand up to pat his head comfortingly.

Suddenly, his head jerked up.

"Did you talk to her?"

She was going to say yes, but she really didn't want to breathe in his tomato/onion breath, so she merely nodded.

"Well, c'mon, what'd she say?" He asked, shaking her again.

"She said-" Maggie paused to gently push at Ronnie's chest, creating some breathing space between them. "She said that she needed some advice about you-" his eyebrows lifted. "And Matt." Aaaand down they fell again.

"Look," she said, gripping his shoulders firmly. "She likes you. A lot. I mean, all you have to do is go to her and she'll say yes. Just...be gentle, okay? You're a giant, so you probably just scared her off."

Maggie didn't even get a chance to widen her eyes as Ronnie, now bursting with happiness, grabbed the sides of her head, and with a force that probably should have snapped her neck, pressed his lips to her forehead.

He pulled away a split second later, smiling like an idiot.

"Thank you so much! You have no idea what you-" he stopped and wrinkled his brow, staring at her as if he had only just recognized who she was.

"...Hey." he said slowly. "Hey, wait a sec. You're that girl!"

Hadn't they already established this?

"Uh..._Maggie_! Yeah, that's it, Maggie! I'm s'posed to be mad at you!"

Maggie stared in utter confusion. What did she do?

"You know, you put Terry through a lot of shit."

_Oh, _really?_ Is_ that_ what he said?_

"Yeah, man, he's been acting all fruity lately..."

Realizing he still hadn't let go of her head, Ronnie awkwardly released her.

"And I just _know_-"

He attempted to point a finger at her, but his hand got tangled up in her hair. He awkwardly (but comically, she had to admit) untied his hand from Maggie's unruly locks.

She'd forgotten to brush her hair that morning, so what?

"I just _know_ you had something to do with it!" He finished, putting his all into looking serious.

Eventually he stopped pointing at her and ran a hand over his mouth, frustrated. Maggie idly wondered if she should move up a couple of steps so he didn't have to hunch himself over like a giant Neanderthal to be eye-level with her, but her thoughts were interrupted when Ronnie acknowledged her again.

"You know Terry's party's tonight, right?" He asked.

_Didn't the whole _school_ know?_

Ronnie continued. "Well I plan on goin' tonight, and YOU better be there."

_What?!_

_"What?!"_ Maggie furrowed her brows and shook her head.

"You heard me," Ronnie smirked, giving a short nod.

"Wha-_why?"_ She asked, still unable to process.

"What do you mean 'why'? Because it's your fault!"

She opened her mouth to argue, but he beat her to it. "Hey! He didn't start flakin' out 'till _you_ came along."

That was true. Sort of.

Ronnie stood up, looking around. He exhaled, resting his hands on his hips. He finally started to walk away, but he turned around to face her again.

"Hey," he called to her, pointing as he walked backwards. "...you better fix this." He gave a lopsided smile before twisting back around and walking off.

Maggie sighed. Did _everyone_ need counseling today?

"Hey, Maggie, do you think I should go out with Jason?"

_'I rest my case,'_ she thought sarcastically as she twisted around to greet Rachel and Danny.

Maggie huffed, hiding a smile. "What took you guys so long?"

* * *

_"What?!"_ Exclaimed Rachel once they got in Danny's truck. "You _want_ to go to Terry's party tonight? _Why? You hate him!"_

"I don't _hate_ him." Maggie said.

Rachel stared at her with her mouth hanging open, a strange twinkle in her eye. Danny sunk in his seat, trying to be invisible.

Silence...

"...Look, Emmit and his friends are gonna be there." Maggie said finally. "I want- _have_ \- to protect them." Corny as it sounded, it was true. She felt it was her duty to at least try and keep them out of harm's way. Or something.

Rachel was finally able to close her mouth, though that knowing twinkle never left her eye.

Silence...

"Oh-KAY..." Danny said, starting the truck.

"Well, uh..." Rachel found her voice. "It's 2:46 now. The party starts at 9:00. What are we gonna do until then?"

Maggie came prepared for this one.

"Movies."

Apparently Rachel was prepared for it, too.

"That still leaves us with like, three hours to blow. What about after that?"

"Food."

"And after that?"

"Skatepark."

"Yes!" Danny exclaimed.

Rachel ignored him. "And after that?"

"Shopping."

Danny groaned.

"And after_ that?"_

"Party."

Rachel smiled, showing off her pearly whites. "Okay, then. Let's do it."

"Alright!" Danny said, putting the truck in gear and driving out of the parking lot.

Maggie looked out the passenger side window, but not before catching an all-too-knowing look from Rachel.

**A/N: WOW. That was a long chapter. 13 pages, in fact. Well, 6 and a half if you were reading a book, but whatever.**

**The party's next, and it is a VERY, long chapter. But you shouldn't mind, since the whole thing's pretty much just a heap load of MaggiexFilkins goodness, haha XD I'm splitting it up into 3 different parts anyway, so you should be fine ;)**

**In case you were wondering, 'Mr. Donald' is Don, aka Danny McBride from the movie. Just saying.**

**Anyway, don't waste any more of your time.**

**Go ahead and click that next chapter! **


	15. Party pt 1

**A/N: It's finally here! This chapter is INSANELY long, so it's split up into 3 parts. Let the partay begin :D **

**In THIS chapter: Terry gets buzzed, and Maggie catches him doing something he's not supposed to (lol whatever you're thinking, just _stop_).**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Drillbit Taylor**

Chapter 15: Party pt. 1~

Terry maneuvered around countless people as he attempted to make his way around to the kitchen. There were a lot of people there already, and it was only 9:30. The night was still young.

He only recognized about half the faces as schoolmates; everyone else was a stranger.

Apparently everyone and their cousin wanted to see him beat the shit out of those two nerds. He wasn't really sure why he had done what he did; challenging Wade and inviting the whole school to his parent's house - he'd be surprised if something wasn't broken already.

It was stupid, he'd admit, but it was too late now.

Once he thought about it he supposed he'd done it because he just needed to pummel something...or in this case, someone. He needed an outlet with everything that was going on right now: school, Maggie, Ronnie...well, when he put it that way it didn't seem like much at all, but it felt a lot bigger than that.

Especially Maggie; he didn't know _what_ to do about that one.

One minute they were almost-friends and everything was going great, the next he quit spending time around her for three measly days and they were back to being arch-enemies, and the _next_ she turns around and kisses him, says she doesn't like him, goes back to hating him, and leaves him to fall for her! Like a chump...

He was so damn confused...

* * *

Terry finally made his way to the kitchen; he wasn't really hungry, but one of the seniors had brought their brother who brought his college friends who brought beer, and he needed some serious stress-relief.

Nabbing a can from the tub of ice on the counter, he poured some into a paper cup - not sure who brought those - and took a swig, and then another. And another. And another.

He emptied the can pretty fast, so he poured himself another shot and took another swig.

And another.

And another.

And another...

And...hey, why was everything starting to spin?

Feeling a little dizzy, Filkins set down his beer (someone else was sure to come along and steal it later) and walked back out towards the front of the house where everyone else was.

Normally, he'd be talking with Ronnie right now, but he hadn't seen him all night. It was possible he was already there and he'd just missed him, but until they crossed paths, Terry was out of luck.

Besides, he was probably too busy with that emo chick anyway...

* * *

Let's see, what do you do when you're buzzed and bored?

Terry glanced around, his gaze settling on a blonde in a miniskirt and tube top leaning against the wall by the staircase. He was pretty sure they had class together, but who's ever really sure when you've had a drink or two?

He wasn't drunk enough to miss the seductive smirk she was sending his way, though. And really, he was so buzzed, so frustrated, so _out_ of it, that he just didn't care anymore.

He needed something to do, and she was there.

He was at her side in a second.

_Besides_, he told himself. _He deserved a chance to just forget everything for a while..._

* * *

After movie-watching, eating, skate-parking, and shopping, Maggie and her friends pulled up to Filkins' place.

"You're _sure_ about this?" Rachel asked just as Danny put the truck in park.

Maggie nodded. "Yep."

When they all hopped out of Danny's pick-up, they took a moment to take in their surroundings.

Nearly all the lights in the house were on, and the entire building practically vibrated with life. There were cars parked everywhere, a few even in the front yard, and the ground beneath them shook with every beat of the near-deafening music that was playing inside. It was so loud that the tune couldn't even really be recognized; it was just a blend of vibrations and beats.

"Into the belly of the beast," Danny joked.

Rachel scoffed, leaning into Maggie's ear. "I'll take care of Danny, you just do what you need to do." She whisper-shouted over the noise.

Maggie gave her a questioning look. She had already told her that she was there for Emmit and his friends, not Terry. But there was no use fighting it now. In fact, it would be quite absurd. She was here to help Emmit, but a part of her _was_ also here for Terry. Who was she to question Rachel's all but obvious knowledge?

So, letting Rachel have her say, Maggie nodded at her.

And with that, they went inside.

* * *

During the five minutes that Terry and Brittany (or was it Chelsea...?) had been making out, he lost complete track of time. Had it been minutes? Seconds? Hours?

He must've been more wasted than he thought.

But whatever. Brittany had served her purpose.

Maggie was the farthest thing from his mind.

For the first five seconds.

The truth of the matter was, the more he kissed Brittany, the more he couldn't stop thinking about Maggie.

If anything, he was even more frustrated now than he was before he'd decided to entertain 'Brittany' or 'Chelsea' or whatever the hell her name was. He was about to call it quits when he noticed her unresponsiveness. Pulling away from her neck to see what the problem was, Terry noticed her gaze wasn't focused on him.

Expecting to turn around and find an angry ex-boyfriend, Terry's face paled as he was met with something much worse.

Standing not ten feet away, and looking less than happy, was Maggie.

* * *

Maggie didn't know _what_ to think.

Rachel had dragged Danny off to talk with some skaters the second they walked in the door, but Maggie definitely wished they were here now.

She hadn't been there two minutes before she caught sight of Terry making out with some blonde chick. She was so shocked that she just stood there, mouth snapped shut, staring.

And it wasn't long before Blondie noticed, either, because she stopped kissing Terry and stared right back, her expression somewhat quizzical, as if Maggie was some rare species of bird she couldn't quite remember the name of. Terry had buried his face in her neck by the time he noticed his partner's distracted behavior.

And that was when he pulled away, followed her gaze, and locked eyes with Maggie.

* * *

She was feeling so many different emotions at one time, and they were all morphing by so fast - disbelief, shock, sadness, hurt, anger, confusion, irony - that Maggie wasn't quite sure what to feel. But she knew one thing for certain. One thing that stood rationally above all the warring emotions inside her: she needed to get out of there.

She turned toward the front door, but found her path was blocked by Ronnie and Alexandria. He had an arm around her, the other holding a drink. His face lit up as he immediately recognized Maggie.

"Hey, Mag! Long time, no see!" He grinned, raising his cup.

Maggie would have said a polite 'hello', but the urgency she felt in her brain telling her to leave as quickly as possible won past it.

She looked at him for a split second before changing course and heading upstairs, not bothering to look back.

* * *

Terry's breath stopped as he stared at Maggie, and he got a terrible feeling in his stomach as he saw her hurt expression. He hadn't felt this guilty since he'd broken his mom's China all those years ago. He knew they couldn't have been staring at each other for more than a few seconds, but it felt like years as he anxiously waited for her to do something, anything.

And finally, she did.

Terry watched in a daze as Maggie's face turned from hurt to angry, to _very_ angry, and turned to leave. He was able to snap out of it when he saw her talking to Ronnie, saw she was leaving.

Immediately he sprang into action, head spinning a little as he left Brittany's side to chase after Maggie, who was heading upstairs. He was stopped by Ronnie, who put a hand on his chest and pulled him back just as he began to climb the stairs.

"Hey, what the hell did you do?" Ronnie accused, yelling over the loud music.

Terry looked back at him for only a second before wrenching his friend's hand off of him and continuing up the steps, pushing and shoving as he did so.

* * *

The hallway was packed with bodies. From wall to wall there were drinks, couples, conversations, jokes, pranks, and dancing. And Maggie was so short it was like trying to find a midget in a moshpit.

Great.

Filkins wormed his way to the end of the hallway, looking for Maggie. Where was she? Deciding she must have gone into one of the rooms, he reached for the nearest door (which happened to be his parent's bedroom) and jerked it open.

He was met with one of the jocks from school and some other chick he didn't know making out on his parent's bed. They immediately stopped what they were doing and started apologizing, but Terry didn't hear as he slammed the door shut; he didn't have time for this.

Turning around in the hallway, he headed for the next closest door: the closet. With more force than necessary he wrenched it open, finding nothing but a bunch of blankets and cleaning supplies.

He shut the door, banging his fist against the frame as he rested his head against it, exhaling.

...Hey. Wait a second. She's been here before. She knew her way around. And she _certainly_ wouldn't hide in a closet. And upstairs there were only two other places she could be: the bathroom, or his room.

Opting for his room - since it was closer - Terry shoved past anyone blocking his path, which was pretty much everyone.

Once he reached his destination, Terry jiggled the handle, only to find that it was locked. Lucky for him, he had the key in his back pocket. He fumbled getting it out, but eventually reached past all the lint and bubblegum wrappers and dug it out.

Holding the key in triumph, Terry steered his hand toward the lock...

And then some asshole bumped him.

The key fell out of his hands, skidding across the wood floors to who-knows-where. He was about to turn around and knock the lights out of whoever had had the gall to get in his way, when suddenly the door opened.

* * *

Maggie emerged from his bedroom, head down, face solemn. She looked like someone who had just been humiliated and didn't want to look anyone in the eye. She opened her mouth to say something - probably to ask him to move - but stopped when she looked up, seeing who he was.

She stared at him for two seconds - two very _long_ seconds - before kicking into gear and trying to push past him.

Filkins, of course, had other plans.

He moved to block her way, grabbing hold of both her wrists when she tried to shove him. Acting fast, he pushed her backwards into his room, shutting the door with his foot.

He let go of her to lock the door and flip on the lights.

When the room flooded with brightness, he inwardly wished he would have cleaned up a bit, but the thought passed as quickly as it came.

Maggie was standing at the foot of his bed, her back to him.

It was silent for a few moments, Maggie because she obviously didn't want to talk to him, and Terry because he didn't know what to say.

"...Maggie?" He called, uncertain.

She moved her head at the sound of her name, but nothing more. It was the first time he'd said her name (without the sarcasm, that is) and all he got for it was a turn of the head.

How encouraging.

Dammit, he wasn't good with delicate situations!

* * *

After she had run upstairs, Maggie immediately began looking for a place to hide. At first she tried the bathroom, but of course with a house full of people it was locked. So she tried the next closest thing: Terry's bedroom. Luckily it _wasn't_ locked.

Maggie went inside, locking the door. She didn't bother turning on the lights; she knew where everything was. She walked up to the bed and sat down, putting her head in her hands.

She attempted to sort out everything that had just happened. She knew she shouldn't really be upset. It wasn't like they were together or anything. He could do whatever he wanted. It was his house, after all.

But that fact failed to help the sinking feeling in her stomach, or the anger she felt towards her own stupidity, or the sadness and confusion. She sighed.

She was such an idiot, thinking he liked her. But at least she knew now. At least now, everything was perfectly clear. And she could handle that. She'd have to. And even though she felt like it she was _not_ going to cry. Not over something as stupid and trivial as this.

Maggie was jerked from her thoughts as she heard the door handle jostle. Probably a couple of teenagers looking for a little 'privacy'. Whatever. She had overstayed her welcome anyway.

She got up and walked over to the door. She bowed her head as she opened it; though she knew no one would probably recognize her, she still felt ashamed at what had just transpired downstairs.

When she opened the door, she stared at their - correction, _his_ \- shoes. Huh, just one person. No couple.

Maggie looked up, curious as to who this single person was.

* * *

And imagine her dismay when her eyes met none other than the one person she didn't want to see.

_Terry_.

There was about two seconds of silence between them before she finally came to and tried to move past him.

She knew that it wasn't going to work, of course, but it was worth a try. After struggling a bit, he grabbed her and pushed her back into the room, shutting the door.

Great. She was stuck in a room with her archnemesis. Maggie's heart further plummeted as she heard the lock click.

Knowing what was coming next, she turned her back to him as the lights flicked on; he was the last person she wanted to be around, let alone see. Tension immediately filled the air, threatening to just choke them both and get it over with.

She really, really, _really_ didn't want to talk right now, and she hoped he'd get the message.

"...Maggie?"

Guess not.

**A/N: Okay, I'm cutting off here for part 1. It's super long (the longest chapter in the whole story, in fact) and stopping it right here is equal to 8 pages! And we're only 1/3rd of the way through!**

**As I said in the Author's Notes at the top (and in the Author's Notes in the previous chapter) this chapter will be split into 3 parts.**

**Now move that cursor (or finger/stylus, depending on what you're using) and click the next part :D**


	16. Party pt 2

**A/N: Part 2! :D**

**In THIS chapter: Terry makes a confession, Maggie thinks, and Wade gets a shot.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Drillbit Taylor**

Chapter 16: Party pt. 2~

Not knowing what else to do, Terry took a step closer. She still wasn't looking at him, and he knew that wasn't a good sign, but he had to explain, to make her understand. But really, what _could_ he say? That he was sorry? And that he expected everything to be suddenly better? Things just weren't that simple. Not with girls, anyway.

Terry took another step, and Maggie, knowing she wasn't getting out of their little private 'talk', angrily whirled around to face him.

When he saw her cold but clearly hurt expression, he knew this wasn't going to be easy. He really screwed up. And he might not - scratch that, he probably _wouldn't_ \- be able to fix it.

But he still had to try.

"Maggie, look, I-"

"You have lipstick on your face."

He stared at her for a second before remembering 'Brittany' and wiping furiously at his mouth. That shit was near-impossible to get off. Embarrassing moment aside, Terry tried again.

"Maggie, I just want you to know that-"

She cut him off. "You don't have to tell me anything. It's your life, you can do what you want. No need to explain to me."

She brushed shoulders with him as she walked towards the door.

Did she _seriously_ think he was gonna give up that easily?

Suddenly aggrivated, Terry turned around, stalked up to her, and spun her back around to face him. He grabbed hold of her arms and shoved her against the door, holding her firmly in place in case she tried to fight him again.

"Now, _listen_," he hissed.

It was just like her to cut him off. "No, _you_ listen. _It's. Fine."_ She bit out.

Now it was his turn to cut her off. _"No,_ it's _not!_ What I did-"

"What you_ did_ is none of my business. Now _let me go."_

Pssh. That was an easy one.

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes!"

"No!"

_"Yes!"_

"N-"

_"YES!"_

This was getting nowhere.

Terry let go of her, exasperated, turning around and throwing his hands in the air in frustration. The girl was just so damn stubborn. It was like trying to reason with a rock.

After a few seconds of silence, Maggie spoke. "...Look. I don't blame you, so there's no need to apologize." She added, "or whatever it is that you wanted to d-"

"Maggie," Filkins interrupted. "Just shut up."

He knew it wasn't the smartest thing to say given the current situation, but he was already fed up with the pesky excuses she was making.

He _hated_ it when people danced around the issue, avoided the problem.

And, of course, Maggie took only the highest offense to his choice of words.

* * *

_"Excuse_ me?"

Oh, great.

She was quiet for a few moments, obviously letting her anger boil over. And then she opened her mouth.

Here it comes.

"You know what?"

_No,_ what?

"I _won't_ shut up."

That's what I thought.

"I can't believe I was stupid enough to come here."

Maggie, please be quiet.

"Everything would have been just _fine_ if I would've just _stayed home."_

Shut up.

"At least then I wouldn't be stuck here with _you."_

Shut up, shut up, shut up.

"You are _such_ an _asshole."_

Ouch.

"But then again, you already know that, right? How could you _not_? You..."

Terry covered his ears with his fists, trying to tune Maggie out, but she just kept going on and on and ranting and _ranting_ and he just couldn't take it anymore.

She wasn't gonna let him get a word in edgewise, he knew that much. So, Terry did the only thing that came to mind at the time that he knew would shut her up.

Without giving it another thought, he whirled around, crossed the distance between them, grabbed hold of her face, and kissed her.

* * *

...Well, that worked.

He pulled away after a few seconds, his face still close to hers...why did this feel like some sort of reversed, twisted de ja vu? Terry looked at Maggie; her eyes were still closed and her mouth was ever so slightly open. _God_, he wanted to kiss her again.

Call him crazy, but right now he just felt like forgetting about the party, about those two nerds, about Brittany, about everything, and ditching everyone and just running off with her. In fact, it didn't seem impossibly unreachable at this point. They _were_ alone...

He was interrupted from his fantasy when Maggie's eyes finally opened.

* * *

She blinked a few times, a bit dazed.

A thousand thoughts ran through him as she did this. Would she be angry? Would she leave? Would she hit him? Would she be happy? Sad? Furious? Would she tell him off? What should_ he_ do? Should he back away? Say something? Say nothing? Was it time to panic? Was it over? Had he screwed it up even worse?

At this point Maggie had looked up at him, so he was able to put his panic on hold. That didn't stop the sudden onslaught of anxiousness that washed over him, though.

It felt like he was being kept in a choke hold the entire time she was staring at him. And the longer she stared, the longer she waited to say something, the worse it got. She was doing this on purpose, he just knew it. Not that he didn't deserve it, but still.

He wondered if she knew she was searing a hole in his skull.

He stopped breathing, his hands were starting to get sweaty, his heart was beating so fast he thought he might have a heart attack. Inwardly he was biting his nails down to stubs, he was so nervous.

Everything weighed on this moment. Nothing else mattered. Not any of their past conversations, fights, or time spent together. It all came down to this.

He wished he could just drop dead.

* * *

Maggie blinked, then blinked again.

And then she opened her mouth.

"Why you _son of a-"_

He silenced her with his lips again, pushing her further into the door. They were too close for her to beat on his chest like most angry girls would, so it was only natural that Maggie, in her current enraged state, settled for digging her fingernails as hard as she could into the back of his neck.

As you can imagine, it hurt.

Terry ceased kissing her almost immediately, but still refused to let her go, instead resting his forehead on hers.

They were both breathing harder than normal, but judging from the pure hatred radiating off Maggie, he suspected for different reasons. His eyes were closed, so he couldn't see her face, but he took a wild guess and supposed she was absolutely livid.

After regaining her breath, she attempted to speak. Coincidentally, at the same time Terry did.

"I _hate_ you-"

"I love you."

Well _that_ was awkward. Did she really hate him? Was this a doomed effort? Should he just give up? Silence followed as they both contemplated over what the other had said. Terry began to idly stroke the sides of her face with his thumbs when Maggie spoke.

"...What?"

* * *

He froze. Oh, great. Did she _seriously_ expect him to say it again? It was hard enough admitting it the first time! He began pulling away, but she grabbed hold of his wrists, keeping them on either side of her face, in attempt to make him stay.

"What did you say?" She asked again, more conviction in her voice.

Well...he had nothing to lose now. Might as well have it out in the open.

Terry pulled away again.

Or not.

Maggie kept her grip on his wrists, squeezing tighter, almost painfully so.

"If you said it once, you can _say it again."_ She said, tone deadly serious.

Here goes nothing.

* * *

"I love you," he repeated, struggling.

She said nothing for the longest time, merely staring a new hole into his skull. He quickly became fidgety, wanting nothing more than to duck and hide for cover. It felt waaayy too out in the open. When did this room get so big?

Finally cracking under her penetrating stare, Terry ducked his head, resting in the crook of her neck, hiding there. _God_, this was embarrassing. At least no one else was here to witness this. He wasn't entirely sure it was time to break out the L word, but it didn't make it any less true.

He was in love with Maggie Lovelace.

And that scared the shit out of him.

* * *

He could almost hear the wheels turning in her head, and he was almost certain that her next question was going to revolve around orbit 'Brittany'...or whatever. And depending on his answer, it could make or break whatever it was that was left of what they had.

She began to ask the dreaded question.

"What about-" Terry, however, was so antsy and impatient that he interrupted her almost even before she began. "It should have been you."

Feeling better now that he had gotten that off his chest, he sighed, and said it again, lower this time, in her ear.

His contentment (and any other positive emotions he had at the moment) were quickly squashed, however. It was so quiet after that that even the pounding music seemed to die down. A minute passed of mutual silence, then another. Maggie spoke again.

"Why should I believe you?"

Good question. Why _should_ she believe him? He'd done nothing but treat her like shit and he was supposed to just say 'I love you' and expect her to fall at his feet? Too bad it didn't work that way.

So why should she trust him, you may ask? Well, because...because...

Dammit.

* * *

He sighed, irritated with himself that he couldn't find a better answer.

"You _shouldn't_." He said finally. "But I'm _asking_ you to...please." he struggled to add, and he buried his face deeper into her neck, embarrassed as hell.

He wasn't used to groveling like this. He felt her breath hit his shoulder as she exhaled deeply. Was that good? Seconds passed, and she said nothing, dashing his hopes. Great, she was probably thinking of the best (or worst) possible way to reject him.

He'd swallowed his pride and laid his heart out like a chump, and she was about to butcher it with the knife she'd kept secretly behind her back...not to say he hadn't done the same thing to her not 20 minutes ago.

As Terry waited for an answer, the air around them grew tense. He didn't dare leave the safe haven that Maggie's neck provided. As much as he wanted to know, he also _didn't_ want to know, and he didn't dare pull away to look at her face.

Who could blame him? Every guy was afraid of rejection, whether they showed it or not.

Terry's hands gripped her shoulders harder, unsure of when they'd moved from her face, as he felt Maggie inhale. And now, ladies and gentlemen, the rejection you've all been waiting for...

* * *

Suddenly there was a loud series of knocks on the door, causing them both to jump apart.

"Hey, Terry, you in there?"

It was Ronnie.

Terry wasn't sure whether to thank him or choke him.

He glanced at Maggie. She was standing a few feet away, facing away from him.

Definitely thank.

He unlocked the door, opening it just enough to see his friend.

"Hey, man, those two nerds are here." Said Ronnie.

Terry looked back at Maggie, who was staring at him expressionlessly.

Exhaling, he looked back at Ronnie. "Sure, let's go."

He needed a break from all this tension. And besides, there had to be over a hundred kids down there, all waiting for him to kick those queer's asses. They were all expecting a good show.

He couldn't disappoint them.

And so, Terry followed Ronnie out, shutting the door behind him, not looking back at the distraught brunette he'd left behind.

* * *

Once he was gone, Maggie sat back down on the side of the bed. She could honestly say she hadn't expected him to say he liked her, least of all love her. She wanted to believe him, of course, but seriously, why should she?

She shouldn't, he'd said so himself. But then again, a true liar probably would have assured her that she could, should, and would believe him, so she supposed he was being honest there. Unless he was so cunning, so devious, that he had told the truth to tell a lie...was that even possible?

Nah.

Terry wasn't that creative.

But that girl...

Maggie tried to think of a valid reason a man would get..._intimate_, with a woman when he truly did love someone else.

Needless to say, it was hard to think of one.

_Maybe he was drunk_, her mind told her. _People do all kinds of crazy things when they have booze._

True, but if that were so, he sure seemed to snap out of it real fast.

* * *

Her inner musings were interrupted when she heard a loud crash coming from downstairs.

Oh, no.

Another crash.

Ryan. Wade. Emmit!

_I haven't had time to think about anything today,_ she complained to herself, jumping up from the bed and running out the door.

* * *

She found everyone in the front yard. Maggie pushed her way to the front of the crowd. They had formed a circle around Filkins and Ryan and Wade and Ronnie. She studied the scene before her:

Ryan had Ronnie in a bear hug, Emmit was lying on the ground, and Wade was trying his best not to get beat to a pulp by Filkins.

She briefly searched around the ring of spectators for Danny and Rachel, but couldn't find them.

Maggie bravely stepped forward, ready to rush to Wade's aid, when Terry noticed her. He looked at her, chest heaving, body sweating, for the longest second she'd ever experienced.

And that was all it took for Wade to get an opening.

She watched as Wade's fist connected with Terry's jaw, sending him to the ground in a heap.

The crowd gasped, then cheered as they all surrounded Wade to congratulate him on his victory.

And that was when they heard the police sirens.

**A/N: We get to see a bit of Ronnie's POV in the next chapter. Just saying.**

**Anyway, not much to say here, so find the 'next' button and click away! :D**


	17. Party pt 3

**A/N: The final part to Party. Plenty of MaggiexFilkins goodness. Enjoy ;)**

**In THIS chapter: Maggie takes care of Filkins (again), Ronnie stops by, Terry wakes up, Maggie fixes things, Terry's happy, and Maggie stays the night.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Drillbit Taylor**

Chapter 17: Party pt. 3~

Everyone was in a panic as they fled the scene. Wade and Ryan dragged Emmit off across the street, Ronnie grabbed Alexandria and ran to hide behind the house, and Filkins was still lying there in an oblivious heap of defeat.

Cars pulled out and drove off faster than Maggie thought possible. She hustled herself over to Terry's side as quickly as she could manage, covering his body in attempt to keep him from being trampled. She spotted Rachel and Danny by the truck, waving frantically for her to join them.

She shook her head.

She wasn't going to leave him like this.

Rachel looked at her, a bit confused, but Danny dragged her over to the passenger door and forced her inside, giving an understanding nod in Maggie's direction as he made his way around to the driver's side, got in, and drove off.

* * *

The sirens were getting closer.

Maggie knelt down and leaned over Terry, looking at his face.

He was out cold.

Wow, Wade had done a pretty good job.

She looked up, just in time to see the flashes of reds and blues and whites of the police cars. She watched as they sped closer...

* * *

...And drove right past their house.

Hm.

* * *

Everything was so quiet now. There was nothing left but matted down grass, scattered red solo cups, and a potentially ruined $500,000 home. If the neighbors hadn't called about the noise, she wondered what the problem was. Perhaps someone was getting robbed...or something.

Maggie turned her attention back to Terry, and sighed. She rolled him over onto his back, then heaved him up onto her arms and dragged him into the house, chuckling at how familiar this felt.

* * *

Once inside, Maggie was able to assess the damages.

She was surprised she hadn't noticed it on the way out; the railing to the staircase had been broken off - it now rested on the floor by the couch. A lamp was laying on the floor with its shade ripped off. The glass to the cabinet that sat next to the television was now in shards on the carpet. The 360 lay smashed by the stairs, and there were cups and plates and food everywhere.

_I'll deal with_ you_ later,_ she glared at a plastic cup that was sitting upright on the floor, taunting her, as she dragged Filkins over to the staircase.

* * *

Maggie dragged Terry up the stairs, scoffing when one of her shoes slipped off. She moved up a few more steps before deciding to take off the other one. She got more traction with her feet anyway.

When she reached the top of the first flight of stairs, she realized how hot she was. Dragging bodies was a lot of hard work! She didn't know _how_ serial killers or the mafia managed to pull this stuff off.

Setting Filkins down for a moment, Maggie took off her jacket and tossed it in the corner behind her.

She picked him up again and made her way up the second (and last, thankfully) flight of stairs, and waddled into his room, kicking away an old pair of boxers as she did so, and shut the door.

* * *

"Are you sure it's safe?"

"Relax, the cops are long gone."

After hiding out in the neighbor's yard behind Terry's house, Ronnie had convinced Alexandria to come back around to the front of his friend's place.

"I just wanna check on him," he assured her.

Alexandria stood on the porch, watching timidly as Ronnie opened the door and stepped inside.

"...Terry?" He called, looking around. "Hey, man, you in here?" He glanced at the broken stair railing before turning back around to face Alexandria.

"Wait here." He told her, and she nodded.

Ronnie started to go up the stairs when he felt a lump underneath his sneaker. He moved his foot aside and looked down.

It was a shoe. A girl's shoe.

_'Maggie must still be here,'_ he thought.

Continuing up the stairs, he noticed another shoe, and when he reached the top he saw a jacket crumpled in the corner.

Confused, Ronnie glanced up the hallway towards Terry's room and- OH MY GOD WERE THOSE BOXERS?!

Suddenly getting the feeling he shouldn't be here, Ronnie ran back down the steps and out the front door. When Alexandria leaned over in an attempt to peer inside he grabbed hold of the knob and deftly closed the door.

"...We'll come back later."

* * *

After laying Terry down on his bed, Maggie sent her mom a text saying she was staying at a friend's house for the night. She knew her mom was far too perceptive for such an obvious lie, but it was worth a try.

And lo and behold, not 30 seconds after she'd hit send, her phone started ringing. Rolling her eyes, Maggie pulled out her cell phone and answered, stepping out into the hallway and closing the door.

She didn't want to wake Terry.

* * *

The first thing Terry noticed when he woke up was that his head hurt. A lot.

The second thing he noticed was that he wasn't outside like he should have been, but in his room.

The third thing he noticed was the time; he rolled over onto his side to look at his clock - 10:30.

The fourth thing he noticed was the sound of voices. Well, _a_ voice.

The fifth thing he noticed was that it was Maggie's.

He listened intently to the muffled hums of her voice even though he couldn't make anything out of it, but judging from the tones of her voice she was talking to her mother.

He could only _imagine_ what she had to say about this.

* * *

Maggie walked back in a few moments later. He didn't bother feigning sleep - she would know anyway. She shut the door, pausing when she saw him staring at her.

"You're awake." She said.

_Yeah, no shit._

Terry didn't answer, just swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat up. He rubbed his head, wishing it would quit throbbing.

"There's some aspirin and some water on your bed stand." Said Maggie, still standing by the door.

"Well, don't you just think of _everything_," he replied sarcastically, popping the pills in his mouth and downing the water. Now that his brain was unscrambled, he remembered why he _didn't_ want to be around her. Had she seriously stayed just so she could reject him?

Getting up, Terry shuffled over to the door, stopping when Maggie stood in the way.

"I gotta take a piss," he said impatiently.

She stared at him for a second before stepping aside, a grim look on her face.

He didn't really have to use the bathroom, and he knew that she knew.

They both knew. They would have to deal with _it_ sooner or later.

He was only delaying the inevitable.

* * *

After doing his business, Terry walked back to his room, shutting the door harder than necessary when he saw she was still there.

"You need to leave," he said shortly.

She didn't respond, but immediately took on an obvious air of defiance.

Becoming aggravated, he tried again. "You can't be here."

He didn't want to be so cold, but it seemed to be the only way to get through her head. He just couldn't deal with her right now.

He'd just been knocked out cold by an absolute nerd, the house was a wreck, his head hurt, his parents were going to kill him, his school reputation was all but _ruined_...

He just needed her to leave. He couldn't handle a rejection on top of everything else.

Exhausted, Terry walked back over to his previous spot on the bed - the one that _wasn't_ close to Maggie - and sat down, rubbing his temple to try and make his headache go away faster.

He heard an irritated sigh behind him.

"You're doing it wrong."

Terry ignored her, instead creasing his eyebrows and squeezing his eyes shut as he rubbed harder. He was so focused on blocking her out that he didn't notice when she walked over to his side of the bed and pulled out the chair from his desk to sit in front of him.

"Here, let me." She grumbled, annoyed.

His eyes shot open as he felt her fingertips replace his own on the spots he was poorly attempting to massage. He opened his mouth to ask her what the hell she thought she was doing, but she beat him to it.

"I don't want to hear it, so just _can it."_

Terry closed his mouth, muttering a low, "Whatever..."

Maggie rolled her eyes. "_Man_, you're so stubborn."

"Whatever," he said again, resting his head on her collarbone.

* * *

After the pills had set in (and 10 minutes of Maggie's TLC) Terry's headache subsided. Actually, it had started feeling better after about five minutes, but he wasn't about to tell her that. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was just prolonging his fate.

Why else would she have stayed if she wasn't gonna stick him with an answer? And he _definitely_ didn't want to go to sleep feeling like a loser.

Best to stop before it even started.

"Hey," he said to get her attention. God, he sounded pathetic...

"Yep?" She replied, still massaging his head.

Terry sighed, trying to muster up even a semblance of coldness. "You should go."

"Why?" She asked, sounding innocent as ever.

Did she have to make everything harder than it already was?

"_Because_..." when he couldn't think of a legitimate reason (other than the truth, of course), Maggie spoke, in a very deceptively soothing voice, mind you,

"I'm not leaving."

Dammit, woman!

* * *

Cursing under his breath, Terry grabbed her hands, stilling her movements.

He leaned back to look at her. "I'm serious." He said, trying to sound authoritative.

"So am I." She shot back.

He hung his head, frustrated.

"What's your problem, huh? Why don't you want me here all of the sudden?" She asked curiously, craning her neck to try and catch his eye.

"Well I don't know if you've noticed, but I've had a really _shitty day." _He told her, getting angrier by the second.

"That's not an answer."

He threw her hands back down in her lap and stood up. He needed some serious breathing room right now.

"It's good enough, now go." He ordered.

Maggie rose from her seat. "No, it's not."

"Yes, it is."

"_No_, it _isn't!"_

"Just leave."

"No!"

_"Get out!"_

_"Why_ won't you just_ tell me?!"_

Terry was silent, looking away from her and running a hand through his hair. He moved further away from her, standing by the door.

He let out a breath before answering. "Look, we _obviously_ don't like each other, so let's just-"

"Who said I didn't like you?"

This girl was going to be the death of him.

* * *

Maggie was puzzled. Really, she was. How could he think she didn't like him? Why the heck would she stay and take care of him if she didn't like him? She thought the answer was obvious.

"Terry?" Man, that felt so weird to say.

"Who said I didn't like you?" She asked again, her tone impatient as she stepped closer.

He said nothing, instead looking briefly at the ground as he swung the door open and waited for her to get out.

Maggie looked out into the hallway, then back at him, and took a defiant step backwards. She was _so_ not backing out on this.

* * *

Realizing she wasn't going to leave, Terry swung the door shut and tossed his arms up in the air, taking a few steps toward the corner of the bed opposite from Maggie, who in turn moved to stand in front of the door so he couldn't toss her out so easily.

Silence enveloped the room as Maggie tried to figure out what was making him act so weird_. 'Well, you_ did_ tell him you hated him,'_ her brain reminded her.

Oh. Right. Duh.

She would have slapped herself, but the situation demanded she not make a fool of herself. Okay, so she knew the problem now. She could fix this.

Maggie knew that if she took too much time trying to explain he would just cut her off and shove her out the door. Besides, she wasn't very good with stuff like this. She'd take way too long fumbling over her words.

So, she settled for the one word that might actually register in his brain at the moment.

"Yes."

* * *

Terry whirled around to face her, confusion evident on his face. Good, she had his attention.

Now was her chance.

"I was going to say yes, you know. I _do_ believe you, and I'm..." she sighed. "I _am_ willing to give this a try."

His expression changed from confusion to...shock? She couldn't quite tell, but she took it as a good sign.

"But if this is gonna work, you have to _promise_ me that you'll stop-"

She was cut off as his lips collided with hers. She vaguely registered a thud as her head hit the door. Wow. That was easier than she thought it would be. So painlessly simple...but she still had to finish what she was going to say.

Maggie placed her hands on his chest and pushed him away, just long enough to catch her breath and (try to) finish her sentence.

"_Stop_ bullyin-"

But he was already kissing her again. She moved to push him away when she heard the unmistakable sheen of a knife being pulled out.

Maggie momentarily froze as she felt a slight tugging at her ponytail, and then a _snap!_ as the elastic was cut and her hair came tumbling down. By the time she regained her confidence his hands were already threaded in her hair.

Oh, just _forget_ it...

* * *

Terry was in Heaven. Well, not really, but close enough. He completely forgot about the wrecked house, his busted jaw, Brittany, and every other bad thing that had happened to him that night.

It may have sounded corny, but he honestly couldn't have been happier at the moment. He felt all light headed, like he was full of air. In a word, he felt high. Just, you know...not on drugs.

He would never tell Maggie, but her hair was incredibly soft. If they made pillows made from it, he'd buy one. Seriously. He couldn't keep his hands out of it.

And _damn_, she tasted good! He didn't want to sound weird, but, if she were a jelly bean, she'd definitely be Cherry. Or maybe Strawberry...he didn't know. Either way, she tasted a thousand times better than _Brittany_. _She_ tasted like the black jelly beans, the gross kind nobody likes...at least, compared to Maggie.

He was way too preoccupied to focus on anything other than kissing her senseless, and he didn't mind one bit.

* * *

Terry wound his hand further around Maggie's head, tangling his fingers deeper into her hair, and rested his other hand on her hip. He kissed along her jaw line, trailing kisses down her neck.

He had to say, he was amazed at how soft and smooth her skin was. It was almost ridiculous.

He settled his lips on her throat, the vibrational hums of her strumming vocal chords telling him that she was talking. He knew she had something she wanted to say, but in all honesty, talking was the _last_ thing on his mind right now.

He didn't ignore her, per se, but he didn't exactly listen either.

But then she said something that caught his attention. He wasn't sure, exactly, but he was certain that he'd heard the words 'stay' and 'night' in the same sentence. And that was bound to get any guy's attention.

"You say you were staying the night?" He asked, kissing her ear.

She seemed a little miffed that he had ignored her initial question (whatever it was) but she answered nonetheless. "Well, that's kind of what I told my mom, so yeah."

_Hell_ yes.

"...Why?" She asked, suddenly suspicious.

Terry didn't respond to that. Instead, he just ducked his head and grinned into her neck.

He was now the happiest man in the world.

"Hey, you know it's like almost 11 o'clock, right?"

Shit.

* * *

"You need to go to bed." She said as-a-matter-of-factly.

"_Hm-mmm_..." he protested, trying to kiss her again.

God, he sounded like some whiny teenager...oh, wait. He was one.

_"No._ You need to rest." She argued.

She was right, but that didn't mean he wanted her to be.

"Look," she said, pushing him away from her. "I'll handle everything downstairs. You just relax."

He couldn't stop the suggestive smirk that spread across his face at her accidental double-comment. Realizing her blunder, Maggie's face reddened as she rolled her eyes.

"You _know_ what I mean."

Terry laughed, turning toward the bed.

She turned to leave, but paused when he turned back to her. "...Did your mom seriously say you could sleep over?"

She made an 'eh', expression. "Well, she kinda still thinks you're unconscious."

"Oh."

She brought a finger to her lips. "Shh, don't tell!" She smiled mischievously.

He grinned.

"And don't get any ideas, I'm sleeping on the couch."

Damn.

She made a move to leave again, when Terry added, "Oh, hey, there's some stuff in my mom's dresser if you need some sleep-clothes or whatever."

"Thanks."

And she left.

* * *

And so, as Maggie worked her magic cleaning up and...whatever else it was that she was doing, Terry got ready for bed. He closed the curtains, changed into a pair of pajamas (he didn't bother changing his shirt), turned off the lights, and hopped into bed.

As soon as his head hit the pillow, he realized how tired he was. And he'd also noticed that his headache was coming back. Must have been from all the stress of fighting with Maggie earlier...or something.

Oh, well.

Terry rolled over onto his left side, but it didn't help any, so he flipped over onto his back. That only made it worse.

In the end, he found that the most comfortable position for his headache to be on his right side, facing the digital clock resting on the night stand at the other end of his bed.

He hated sleeping on his side. It was just so annoying. But whatever. He could handle one night. No big deal.

Terry sighed, and with nothing else to do, attempted to sleep.

* * *

He woke up some time later, only to find that his headache was still there. Or had he? He wasn't entirely sure he'd slept at all. It sure as hell didn't _feel_ like he'd gotten any rest. It was still dark, so it couldn't be too early...what time was it anyway?

Terry lifted his head in the direction of his nightstand. Why couldn't he see the clock? It was completely black, almost as if something was blocking it-

The bed shifted as someone (or something) climbed in beside him. He nearly jumped out of his skin in fright.

But it was dark. And he was cooler than that.

A second later he remembered Maggie. And you can be dead sure he was glad he had simply frozen rather than shoot up out of his own bed.

Unsure of whether he should acknowledge her presence or pretend to be asleep, Terry just lay there, watching with blind eyes as she slipped under the covers with him.

"Your house is weird."

At first he didn't understand, but then it hit him and he couldn't help to stifle a laugh.

"Are you_ scared?"_ He laughed, teasing her.

She froze, and he felt her movements cease.

"O-oh, you're awake?"

Woops. He blew his cover.

Then another thought hit him.

"...Wait, you_ talk to yourself?"_ He said, laughing all over again.

His response came in the form of a pillow to the face.

"Okay, _God!"_ He chuckled, and lay his head back down.

* * *

"...Is your headache better?" Maggie asked after a while.

Technically yes, but it's not like she could know that.

"Not really." He replied, letting out a 'pained' breath.

Hey, he was gonna get all he could for this.

About ten seconds after he'd said that Maggie wordlessly wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. He had the feeling that it was meant more as a comfort for_ her_ than him, but he wasn't about to complain.

"Did widdle Maggie have a nightmare?"

_"Shut up."_ She halfheartedly smacked his head.

Terry silently chuckled, snaking his arms around her waist and burying his face in her hair, nuzzling her neck with his nose.

He could definitely get to sleep now.

**A/N: Whoo, it's finally done! :D **

**Er, the chapter, not the story. Ha.**

**I WAS going to split this chapter in half, buuut I decided not to :P**

**I hope there was enough MaggiexFilkins 'interaction' for you, lol...hey. I just realized something. If you combine their names, you get Flaggie. Or Taggie. Or Merry. Or Milkins, lol! XD**

**Anyway, this chapter (or rather, this part of the chapter) was really hard for me to write. I'm just not good at all that kissey-kissey stuff. lol.**

**I hope it wasn't too corny, but if it was don't worry. It doesn't get any worse than that, lol. Though really, I suppose I should be more concerned with Terry being OOC, but whatever.**

**Well, by now I figure if you've read this far you're probably pretty tired, so bookmark this chapter (or whatever) and come on back tomorrow. And if you're not tired, then go right ahead and click the next one, because I'm sure you're curious as to what happens in the morning ;)**


	18. Morning

**A/N: In THIS chapter: Terry solves a 'misunderstanding', Maggie hides from Ronnie, and they attend their first class together as a couple.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Drillbit Taylor**

Chapter 18: Morning~

Maggie woke up the next morning feeling happy and content, despite the fact that she'd opened her eyes to the annoyingly bright numbers of the digital clock that rested on the nightstand a mere foot away from her face.

It was 4:52 A.M.

She stared at that dastardly timekeeping device for approximately four minutes before rolling over onto her other side to check on Terry. He was lying on his stomach, one arm hanging off the side of the bed, the other slung lazily over her side.

His face was inclined towards hers and his cheek was smashed into the pillow he was using, and upon further inspection Maggie saw he was slightly drooling. She would have laughed but she kept silent. She didn't want to wake him.

_Besides_, she thought to herself, _he looked cute this way. She could take a picture and blackmail him if they ever broke up._

_'Nah,' _she decided. _'That would be going too far.' _Besides. She didn't bring her camera.

Sliding out of bed, Maggie was careful not to interrupt Terry from his sleep. Quietly shuffling over to the door, she stopped to gaze at him, smiling to herself as he shifted his head to the other side of his pillow.

She committed the insane uncharacteristic cuteness of the scene before her to memory before turning and heading out the door.

She had work to do.

* * *

Terry groggily opened his eyes, creasing his brow as his vision cleared to reveal a dirty pile of clothes he'd thrown in the corner who-knows-when. He attempted to raise his arm to get the sand out of his eyes, only to find it was numb from hanging off the end of the bed for so long. Dammit.

He shifted onto his back, raising his other arm to his face to cover his eyes, and groaned.

Then he remembered Maggie. Still closing his eyes, Terry rolled over onto his right side and haphazardly flung his still numb arm across the bed, expecting his hand to meet Maggie's waist. Imagine his surprise when said arm met nothing but air and flopped carelessly back onto the mattress.

The hell?

He blindly moved his hand across the sheets until he almost fell off the other end of the bed.

Finally opening his eyes, Terry was greeted not with Maggie's beautiful face, but with the bright red numbers of his alarm clock.

6:02.

Shit, he needed to get ready for school. Sitting up, Terry briefly tried to make sense of what happened the night before.

Was it all a dream? He rubbed his jaw. Hell no.

What about Maggie? Had she really stayed the night? He smelled his shirt. Yep.

Then where the hell was she?

Terry's face blanched as a thought suddenly struck him.

That bitch! She'd packed up in the middle of the night and left!

Was this her form of rejection? To accept him and make him feel better, only to pull the rug out from under him later? When he least expected it?

...Wasn't that supposed to be the _guy's_ job?

Now he was mad. _Really_ mad.

Violently tossing the covers aside, Terry stalked out of his room and headed for the bathroom. He paused to peer down the stairs. Maggie's jacket and shoes were gone.

Bitch...

* * *

After doing his business, Terry all but flew down the staircase and rounded the corner to the kitchen. He was so-

He paused in the doorway as his eyes landed on none other than Maggie.

-pissed?

"Rough morning?" She asked, breaking an egg into the bowl she was using.

She was fully dressed, jacket and shoes and all, and she had taken the time to make breakfast.

"Uh..." Terry sat down at the table, speechless. Great, now he felt like an ass. "...Kinda."

He stared at her as she scrambled the eggs.

"That sucks. Here's your egg." She replied, setting down a steaming plate of eggs, toast, and bacon.

Terry was so blinded by the mouthwatering smell that he hadn't noticed how forcefully his food was placed on the table.

"And here's your milk." She set - *cough* slammed *cough* - his glass of milk down beside his plate.

Okay, he did notice that one. And did he detect a hint of malice in that pretty voice of hers?

"Oh, but wait. Aren't you _forgetting_ something?" She asked with mock concern, turning back around to face him as she leaned against the doorway.

Yep. Definitely malice.

But just for the hell of it, Terry decided to play along. "I dunno...what?"

"Gee, I don't know...THIS?" Maggie jerked down the collar of her shirt, revealing a giant hickey. Well okay, it wasn't giant, but it was definitely there.

Wait...so that _wasn't_ a dream...

Coming back to the issue at hand, Terry asked (very smugly, I might add), "Whoa, what happened to_ you?"_

_"You_ happened to me." She replied angrily, turning around and all but stomping back into the kitchen.

Whoops. She was pissed. And the day hadn't even really started yet.

Setting down his toast, Terry got up from his chair and, silently laughing, followed Maggie into the kitchen to smooth things over.

* * *

After leaving Terry's bedroom, Maggie had gone (naturally) to the bathroom. And imagine her surprise when she looked in the mirror and found a giant bruise on the left side of her neck.

Well okay, it wasn't giant, but it was definitely there.

She wouldn't have been so mad about it if she had just been awake when it happened. She didn't think he was the type of person to...'do' stuff like that. At least not without her consent.

But then again, he bullied her to the point of snapping without her consent, so what was a hickey to him? Really?

She sucked her teeth. Bastard.

Giving one final glare at the mirror, Maggie headed downstairs to clean up.

* * *

She was able to get most of the trash - cups, plates, wrappers, glass, etc. - the previous night, so she now only needed to stuff everything into trash bags and dispose of the waste from those petty teenagers from the night before.

There were some things that couldn't be fixed, however.

At least, not by Maggie.

She left the broken piece of railing where it lay on the floor. Hey, she was no repair man.

She also left the 360 alone, although she did have the decency to move it onto the coffee table where it wouldn't get stepped on.

After filling two whole bags with utter trash, Maggie set them against the wall beside the front door.

It was 5:49 by the time she finished.

Heck, she might as well clean the carpets, too.

She remembered where the sweeper was from the time she had torn the house apart looking for a gosh darn blanket. And so, after getting out the Filkins' Shark, plugging it in, and sweeping to her heart's content, Maggie was disappointed to find that she had only used up 16 minutes of her time. She didn't have to get ready for school for another 22 minutes.

Well, now what?

As if to answer her question, Maggie was hit with a sudden case of incredible hunger.

Guess she was making breakfast...

* * *

Maggie hadn't been cooking for three minutes when she heard an upstairs door slam.

_Someone_ wasn't a morning person.

She briefly contemplated poisoning the eggs but decided against it when she heard feet stomping down the stairs.

So, Maggie kept her cool, Terry sat down...well, you know what happened. Which, of course, leads us to now, where a fuming Maggie stood in the kitchen with a totally-guilty-but-not-going-to-admit-it Terry behind her.

"Do you honestly expect me to believe that you did this in your_ sleep?"_

"Do you honestly expect_ me_ to believe I'd lie to you?"

"..."

"...Don't answer that."

Maggie rolled her eyes and threw her hands up.

Unbelievable.

"Besides, I mean it's not like you can't cover it up with a scarf or something, right?"

Maggie turned around to give him an 'are you serious?' look. "Are you _kidding_ me? Scarves are...that's like the biggest hickey-hiding cliche ever! I might as well prance around school without one!"

Of course, it was just like Terry to unrealistically simplify things.

"So just wear your hair down, no one'll notice."

Taking out a switchblade from his pocket, Terry reached behind Maggie's head and cut the hair tie she was wearing. There was an audible_ snap!_ as her hair came tumbling down. He fluffed her hair, tossing a few strands over her shoulders, and strategically positioned the frontmost locks in front of the offending mark.

When he was done, Terry took a step back, stroking his chin to admire his work.

"See?" He gave her a thumbs up.

Maggie's face soured. She grabbed his hand and turned his thumb down.

_"See?"_ She demonstrated her point by moving her head slightly and easily shaking her hair out of the way.

Terry's face fell into a 'darn it' expression, clearly searching for a new solution.

Suddenly, his face lit up. "Your jacket! You can just wear your jacket all day."

"Earth to Terry: I _already_ wear my jacket all day."

"Uh, Earth to Maggie: I freakin' _know that._ Here," he zipped her jacket up. "See?"

Maggie looked down. Well, she tried to. Of course she couldn't see her own neck.

Reaching up, she felt for the bruise, relieved to find it was covered by the hood of her jacket (but just barely). Terry smirked at her, obviously basking in his own genius.

Maggie rolled her eyes. "Whatever..."

"What, no kiss?"

She walked past him to the stove.

"Seems to me you had about a hundred 'kisses' last night." She said smartly.

"Well in my defense I did have a really weird dream last night."

Her face twisted angrily.

"Just finish your breakfast."

"Will do."

"And get ready for school. We have to leave in 15 minutes."

"Yes, mommy."

* * *

If Terry's car was nice on the outside, it was even nicer on the inside. It had leather seats, iPod dock, cup holders (something Maggie had wished for whenever she and her family went out for fast food), and the carpets were the cleanest she had ever seen.

Terry had run back inside for his book bag, so Maggie took the opportunity to play with the adjustment settings on her seat. Hey, she had to be comfortable.

As she moved her seat up and down, she didn't notice Terry had come back out of the house. She jumped and froze when the back door of the car suddenly swung open and he tossed his bag in the back seat before joining her up front.

Great, now she was uncomfortable.

"Uh, shouldn't I sit in the back? I mean, don't you and Ronnie usually drive to school together?" She asked, not about to tell him she had been screwing around with the chair controls.

He scoffed. "Please. He can catch a ride with his mom."

She widened her eyes and looked away. "O-kaaay. Long as you're sure."

Terry started the car and turned on the radio. He scoffed again, laughingly this time. "_Yeah,_ I'm sure." And he pulled out of the driveway.

* * *

The drive to school was silent, aside from the radio. But it was a comfortable silence, the kind where you just enjoy each other's company. Maggie had sent her mom a text saying that she was riding to school with Terry. She was surprised (but at the same time wasn't) when she replied back saying it was fine. She even added a smiley face.

Hiding a smile, Maggie glanced at Terry. He was focused on the road, brows furrowed in concentration, eyes squinting in the morning light. His mouth was set in a thin line, and although it probably wouldn't look like it to an outsider, he was practically beaming.

Throughout the entire ten minutes they'd been driving, Maggie could literally _feel_ the happy vibe he was (unintentionally, no doubt) giving off. If she had some form of specialized super-vision she was sure he'd be radiating Happy.

And that was perfectly fine with her.

* * *

After a while, Maggie turned away from Terry, deciding to focus her attention on the trees outside her window.

As they pulled up to a stoplight, she turned her gaze to the car next to theirs. It looked kind of familiar...her suspicions were cleared when Ronnie's head popped out from the passenger's seat, apparently saying something to his mom.

Maggie tried to hide herself, but it was too late. Ronnie stopped mid-sentence when he recognized who was sitting in _his_ spot in Terry's car.

Maggie's eyes widened.

Ronnie's jaw dropped.

And then the light changed.

Terry, being the reckless driver that he was, sped ahead and passed them, and Maggie, being the curious girl that _she_ was, looked in the side view mirror at the Lampanelli's car.

Ronnie still had the same expression on his face.

Sinking in her seat, she spared a glance at Terry. He didn't seem to notice that he'd just passed his best friend.

Oh, well. It was probably for the best.

* * *

When they pulled into the school parking lot, everything seemed perfectly normal. No one was staring at them, giving them weird looks, or treating them any differently. But then again, they hadn't stepped out of the car yet.

Maggie wasn't worried about being judged or cast out or condemned or whatever for being with Filkins - she could honestly care less about what they thought. But she wondered if it was the same for him. If it was, he didn't show it.

Still, it wouldn't hurt to ask.

When she thought about it, she supposed he was sacfrificing a lot to be with her. His 'bad boy' image would practically shatter the second they walked up those steps together, not to mention the sure teasing and heckling he was bound to get from everyone saying he was 'whipped' or whatever term they used up here.

But then again, she supposed his reputation was already tarnished from last night. And not to mention the fact that the whole school pretty much saw them as already being together.

Still...yeah, she'd better ask.

"So, you sure you wanna go in together?"

He gave her a look. "Yeah, why the hell not?"

Well that was settled fast.

She must have been making a weird face, because Terry started to give her a what-are-you-doing-what's-your-problem-are-you-high look. Fixing her expression, Maggie moved to get out of the car.

"Wha-hey! Wait a sec!"

Her efforts were halted when the door locks disappeared. She should have known he wasn't gonna drop it.

"What do you mean 'am I sure'? Why _wouldn't_ I be?"

Sighing dramatically, she turned back to him. "I don't know, maybe because we'll be the talk of the entire school?"

That got him thinking.

She sighed again, lightly this time.

Men were so dense sometimes...

* * *

For the first time all morning, Terry actually stopped to think. Maggie was right, they would be talking about them. He hadn't thought about that, but like he said, he hadn't been thinking all morning.

And so, to appease his girlfriend of nine hours, Terry thought.

For about five seconds.

"Pfft. Who cares? Besides, if everyone knows you're with me, they won't mess with you."

"No one really messed with me before..."

He grinned at her. "Well they _really_ won't mess with you now."

Assuming the conversation was over, Terry turned to open the door.

"Wait."

Suppressing a groan, he turned back to Maggie. "What?"

"I need to tell you something-"

"You're pregnant."

"W-what? No! We haven't even-"

"Hahaha, yeah, I know. But your face? Priceless."

"..."

"..."

"...This is kind of important, you know-"

"I know. Please, continue."

"Would you stop that? I can't even-"

"Stop what?"

"I-"

_"What?"_

"Interrupting me! GOSH..."

"..."

"...What?"

"You really need to work on your people skills."

"Just forget it."

Laughing, Terry caught Maggie's arm before she could leave. "Hey, c'mon. I was just kidding. Now what is it?"

He watched, amused, as she crossed her arms and let out a huff. And she said _he_ was immature.

* * *

"...Okay, I'm not even gonna bother asking if you remember last night, so I'm just gonna say it: if we're gonna be... if this is gonna work...gah! You need to quit bullying people!" She finished, exasperated.

Wow, was that it? He was expecting a time limit on how long they could spend together a day or something stupid like that. Or, you know..._some_ type of boundary. He sure wasn't going to give her any ideas, though.

The only reason he even bothered with the two nerds (well, two and a half if you counted the short one) in the first place was because he was bored and there was little to nothing else to do in this Godforsaken town, but with Maggie here now he was sure to be occupied.

This was an easy battle.

"Look, if the only reason you're with me is because you're trying to play martyr and protect those geeks, then we might as well end this right now-"

"No! That's not why I'm...grr! _Look_, we both know it's not right, and it has to stop. Besides, it's not like I'm asking you to..." she thought for a moment. "Stop playing Grand Theft Auto."

"_That's_ crossing the line."

She rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean. So are you gonna cut it out or what?"

Throwing his head back, Terry groaned, "_Fiiiine_, God!"

"I'll do it. But only because you asked. Got it?"

"Yep." Maggie smiled, pulling him in for a quick kiss.

Terry wrapped his arms around her, spotting Ronnie staring quizzically at him a few yards away with a 'what's going on' expression as he looked over her shoulder. Smirking, Terry sent him a victory smirk and gave him a thumbs up.

Easy win.

* * *

Sure enough, when Maggie and Terry got out of the car, all eyes were on them. Maggie ignored the stares. Terry didn't. He sent death-glares to just about everyone on campus as they ascended the concrete stairs leading up to the school's entrance.

By the time they got to class, everyone was talking about them, and Maggie humorously wondered if they would make the headlines of the school newspaper...

"Hey, did you hear me?"

She was pulled from her thoughts by Terry. "Huh? What?"

"I said I'll drive you to school from now on, so you should tell your mom."

"Oh, um...yeah."

"...Are you okay?"

Maggie looked oddly at him. "Um, yeah. Why?"

He lifted a hand to her forehead. "You're not sick or anything?"

"Um, no, why?"

He removed his hand. "Because you're zoning out like a weirdo."

He grinned at her. She gave him a look. "Whatever." Maggie rolled her eyes and went through the doorway leading to History, Terry laughing silently behind her.

* * *

The 45 minutes it took for Mr. Dunbar to give a lecture on the Revolutionary War went by surprisingly fast for Maggie. It didn't seem like everyone was gossiping in hushed whispers, or conspiring against her, or all joining forces to create an air about the room that was as tense and awkward as possible.

When she had first walked into the room, she half expected there to be a spotlight on her, beating down on her form with an unforgiving brightness as it followed her all the way to her seat, while she, in vain, attempted to spot and recognize all those who chattered and gossipped and laughed behind the glare...

Okay, maybe that was a bit too dramatic.

But she expected _someone_ to say or do something!

There was no glare, no gossip, no laughing, no ridicule, no spotlight...and that made Maggie all the more suspicious.

* * *

She didn't care, of course. She didn't care what everyone else thought about her and Terry. Why should she? She would be graduating. And when she did, she would step out into the world, with or without Terry, and she would never see them again.

Probably.

So why should she worry about what a bunch of kids she didn't even know thought about her?

Exactly.

She and Terry had seated themselves in their usual spots - second row from the back, Maggie in front and Terry behind - and no one had said a word. Like it was just another day. The only one to even glance in their direction was Ronnie.

Maybe the news hadn't reached them yet. But anyway, aside from the lack of reaction from her classmates, Maggie made it through Mr. Dunbar's I'm-really-boring-but-i-want-to-try-and-be-cool-to-the-students lecture quite quickly.

She sat, listened, jotted down notes, and resisted rolling her eyes when Terry's fingers found their way into her hair before they had even sat down.

She simply couldn't understand his fascination with it. She was showering the second she got home.

Or, you know. When Terry got her home.

Whichever...

Oh, never mind.

**A/N: I hope this was split into enough parts that it didn't make you just wanna skip :P I know when I'm reading I can't psychologically handle a chapter that's thousands of words long with no breaks, so I just end up skimming XD**

**Anyway, yeah. The next chapter has some action in it, some violent action :D**

**So click ahead and ride on! ( '-')/**


	19. Lunch

**A/N: In THIS chapter: Maggie trips up, Terry punches someone (again), and principal Doppler gets involved.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Drillbit Taylor**

Chapter 19: Lunch~

By the time they had made it to lunch, Maggie started to feel the peer pressure. It was no surprise - it was lunch! Lunch time was practically every school's central hub for gossip. No big deal.

Maggie acted as if she couldn't hear the two girls whispering behind her as she and Terry moved up the lunch line.

"I'm gonna go find us a seat, okay?" Terry asked, turning to face her.

"Sure, that's fine." Maggie gave him a slight smile as he walked off. She then turned her attention back to the day's food selection, unsure of what to pick.

Quickly swiping a sandwich and the last vanilla pudding, Maggie brisquely walked out of earshot of the two girls behind her in search of Terry. She found him sitting on the other side of the room, quite a ways away, away from everyone else.

Ronnie and Alexandria had just begun to seat themselves next to him, and even though he was far away, Maggie could tell Terry was irritated, if only slightly.

Gripping her lunch tray firmly, Maggie let out a breath of determination as she began to make her way to Terry. She hated it when she had to dodge and weave around people and food and bags and feet just to get a darn table.

She might as well try and maneuver a minefield.

* * *

She quietly took note of various cliques as she passed each table: skaters, emos, geeks, theater-goers...Maggie inwardly smiled to herself as she neared her destination. Almost there. Just a few more seconds, and she could pat herself on the back for a job well done.

Her happiness, of course, was short-lived.

Maggie's right foot caught on someone's shoe, her eyes widened in shock, her tray flew up in the air, her food went flying, and she fell.

She put her hands in front of her face to try and catch herself, but as fate would have it, she still landed on the floor. Fortunately, her food tray landed a few feet away, so at least she wouldn't have to change clothes.

It was then that she noticed the sudden silence in the room.

And then laughter.

* * *

Terry was at her side in an instant. Maggie ignored the jeers of chuckles and laughter as Filkins helped her up, instead focusing on who she had tripped over. She wished she hadn't.

As she lifted her head, Maggie's eyes immediately landed on the 'jock' table. And upon further inspection, she noticed the person sitting on the end, the one closest to her, was none other than one of the football 'Stars' of McKinley High: Brian.

He wasn't the _best_ player, of course - that was Brad. But he was up there.

"Watch where you're going, shorty."

Oh. And he was a jerk.

Maggie would have stood up to him, but she knew that he was just your average jock and that he wouldn't be worth it. So she let it go.

_"What did you say?"_

* * *

Terry didn't.

She moved to pull him back, but he was already in Brian's face.

This wasn't going to end well.

"I said your little _girlfriend_ needs to mind her step," came Brian's cocky reply.

Maggie was expecting Terry to just hit him at this point, but his next words surprised her.

"Are you gonna apologize?"

Brian scoffed, giving him a funny look. "Pfft. _Excuse_ me?"

Terry's blood pressure was rising by the second, she just knew it. Time to intervene.

"Terry, look, it's fine, let's just-" he put a hand up to silence her. "No." He said, still looking at Brian. "Are you gonna say sorry or not?"

The entire cafeteria was so silent Maggie could hear the school clock. The second-hand made an audible 'tick' before Brian replied, "I ain't gonna say _shit_."

And then all Hell broke loose.

* * *

Before Maggie even knew what was happening, Terry had punched Brian in the face so hard he stumbled back. The football prodigy grabbed the edge of the table for support, but it slid out from under him and he ended up making contact with the floor.

His fellow teammate Brad tried to help him up, but Brian shoved him away as he attempted to stand on his own, swaying ever so slightly as he did so. He took a step toward Terry when Ronnie stepped in to help his friend.

"You sure about that, buddy?" He warned, pushing Alexandria protectively behind him.

A few of Brian's buddies got up to help him when Principal Doppler showed up. He didn't look happy.

Everyone froze.

Tick.

Tick.

Tick.

Tick.

_"Office. Now."_

* * *

"_What_. On _Earth_. Were you _thinking?!"_

Terry exhaled, resting his fist on his cheek in boredom.

This was nothing new, but it sure was getting old. He absent mindedly stroked the plush fabric of the armchair he was sitting in as he waited for Doppler's verbal berating to end.

Maggie sighed in the chair next to him. She looked as though she couldn't take much more either.

Principal Doppler had brought in everyone that had been 'involved', which apparently meant, Maggie, himself, Ronnie and Alexandria, and the entire jock table. Ronnie and Lex were let go almost immediately, as it was determined that they didn't actually do anything. The football team was let go one by one, and eventually, the only ones left were Brian, Terry, and Maggie.

"Look, principal Doppler, I wasn't hurt or anything, it was only an accident." Maggie turned to Brian, knowing full well he'd play along to save his own skin and get the hell out of there. "Right?"

Brian pushed himself off of the windowsill he was leaning against. "Uh, yeah, sir. It was just an accident that got way out of hand."

Asshole.

He saw him purposely jutt his foot out to trip Maggie.

Terry gripped the armrest. He felt like punching him all over again.

* * *

Principal Doppler looked down at his precious plaque, deep in thought. That dude really needed to get a life. Adjusting the position of his gold-encrusted name, Doppler looked back up.

"...Alright. You're free to go."

Maggie and Terry rose from their seats, and began to follow Brian out. He was mere milliseconds away from freedom when Terry felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Not you, Mr. Filkins."

Damn.

Maggie turned around to look at him from the doorway, uncertainty in her face.

"Down worry," he said as Doppler led him back to his seat.

Terry winked at her. "I'll be out in a sec."

Time to lay on the charm.

* * *

Maggie was leaning against the wall with Ronnie and Alexandria, swinging her book bag back and forth as she - they - waited for Terry.

She scoffed laughingly to herself; the sly little snake charmer was probably smooth-talking his way through this this very second.

* * *

Lo and behold, not five minutes later, Terry emerged from the principal's office, looking happy as a clam. They pushed off the wall to meet him. Ronnie caught up to him first.

"Hey, man, how'd it go?"

Terry smiled. "Let's just say that I'm off the Doppler Radar."

Ronnie's jaw dropped, and he stood frozen in place as Terry grabbed hold of Maggie's hand and walked ahead. Ronnie snapped back to reality when Alexandria tugged on his sleeve. He caught up to Terry and Maggie a second later.

"Wha-what do you mean? You don't have to worry about Doppler anymore? How the hell'd you pull _that_ off?"

Ronnie attempted to interrogate Terry for a full minute before giving up. Terry stopped when they rounded a corner.

"Okay," he began, dropping the 'good boy' act. "Today pretty much ruined any academic-"

"Scholastic," Alexandria quietly corrected.

"Whatever. Today pretty much ruined any _scholastic_ drive I had for school, so I'm ditching."

Ronnie was speechless yet again. "Wh- wha- but-"

"Terry, you just _barely_ got off the last time!" Maggie interjected.

"Yeah, exactly!" Ronnie exclaimed, finally having found his voice.

"What makes you think you're gonna get away with this?" Maggie asked.

"That's right!" Ronnie joined in.

"Do you seriously think you're not gonna get caught?"

"Yeah, do you?"

"You won't be able to charm your way out of it this time."

"Nope, no charm."

"You'll be suspended."

"Yep, suspension."

"And then you'll be held back a grade!"

"Held back!"

"And then your parents will be involved!"

"You're screwed!"

"Ronnie, that's enough."

"Sorry."

Terry rolled his eyes at the both of them. "Pssh. _Please_. This isn't my first time at the rodeo." He smirked, making his way towards the exit. "You comin'?" He asked, nodding his head in their direction as he held the door.

Ronnie shook his head. "No. No way, man. I got in enough trouble last time."

Terry rolled his eyes. "Fine, wimp out."

Ronnie took Alexandria's hand. "Whatever, man." And they walked off to their next class.

Terry sighed. "You comin'?"

Maggie smiled and took a step back, shaking her head. "I really better get to class..."

He groaned, throwing his head back against the door.

"I'll see you after class," she called as she turned to follow Ronnie and Alexandria.

"I'll pick you up after school." He called back.

Maggie turned back to give him a small wave and smile before jogging to catch up with her fellow classmates.

**A/N: This chapter is kinda long too, so I'm splitting it into 2 separate chapters :P**

**...Well. Actually this is an extremely uneven spot to split it up, but you'll see why in the next chapter...I think. Lol. **

**Terry gets sweet in the next chapter, so be sure not to skim, at least not the last half :)**


	20. Gift

**A/N: In THIS chapter: Terry cruises, eats, and browses, and Maggie gets a surprise.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Drillbit Taylor. Or GameStop. Or Dead Space. OR Left4Dead :P**

Chapter 20: Gift~

Terry hopped into his Mustang and started the engine. He wasn't really sure where he was going, but he knew one thing: it wasn't school. He'd probably just cruise around town, maybe get a bite to eat.

It was kind of funny, actually. He had come here in the highest of spirits, the best of attitudes, and if he was gonna learn anything it might as well have been today.

But then that jock-head went and ruined it all. Just like that. Asshole.

Terry shook his head as he pulled out of the school parking lot. He _really_ needed to calm down. He turned on the radio, noticing the time. Well, he had a good three hours to do so.

Part of him felt bad for leaving Maggie behind. Should he have stayed? Terry waited at a light as he contemplated the answer.

Nah.

She'd understand.

The light turned green, and he made a left turn, on the way to town. He decided to chill for awhile. What's more relaxing than being surrounded by hundreds of people, looking at stuff you can't buy for three hours?

Terry felt for his wallet as he drove.

Well, maybe the 'can't buy' part wasn't _completely_ definite...

* * *

When Terry arrived at the mall, the first thing he did was eat. He hadn't swallowed a bite of food at lunch, thanks to 'Brian'. He scarfed down a sub, but he was still hungry, so he got himself a pizza. He ate a bit slower this time, since he still had a good two hours to blow.

After he was done, he tossed the remains of his meal into the nearest trash can and headed to the closest store, which happened to be an antique shop.

* * *

Needless to say, he wasn't in there long.

* * *

Terry then proceeded to skip from store to store, finding nothing he really liked enough to get.

He thought of Maggie as he passed a girly store.

Maybe he should get her something...? He took another look at the store, taking in all its pink and sparkly glory.

..._Hell_ no.

Terry liked Maggie -loved her, even - but this was just too much. He drew the line at Wanda's Wonders. Besides, Maggie was too mature for all that 'girly' crap. He needed to go somewhere a bit more sophisticated, like...Victoria's Secret.

He spotted his desired destination.

Oh, look, they were having a special!

* * *

The motion sensor beeped as Terry walked in. Wow, there were a lot of people here. And quite a few of them were men...eh, shopping for their wives, no doubt. He hadn't been browsing for more than two seconds before a perky young saleswoman approached him.

"Hello, how are you today?" She beamed.

Terry, a little taken aback, replied, "Uh...good..."

He started to walk away when she spoke again.

"Are you looking for anything in particular? Maybe for a certain someone?" She winked, as if it were some big secret.

No, he was here for himself. _Duh_.

"Uh, yeah actually. What do you got?"

Her face lit up. "Well, everything in our store is 40% off today, and we have a _very_ wide selection of lingerie," ha! Maggie would never! Still...40% off..."bath salts," nah. "Makeup," he'll pass. "And jewelry." A necklace wouldn't be a bad idea, but Maggie didn't wear jewelry. Or did she? He'd never seen her wear any...

The saleslady continued. "We also have-"

"Uh, look, do you have anything...conservative?" She blinked. Terry tried again. "Uh, you know...subtle? I'm just looking for a simple gift." _Cheap_ was more like it.

Her eyebrows lifted. "Oh, well have you seen our Pink collection? That's about as subtle as it gets."

Aaaaaand he was supposed to know what the hell that _was?_

"Um...sure, where is it?"

"Right this way!" She smiled, motioning for him to follow.

* * *

The woman led him to a small shelved area near the back of the store. There were rows upon rows of various articles of clothing, from socks, to sweatpants, to tank tops to jackets, all of which had the word 'Pink' on them.

"Is this what you wanted?" The sales lady asked.

"Yeah, thanks." He replied, eager for her to leave.

She smiled, and upon hearing the motion sensor beep again, walked off to greet another victi- er, customer. Terry stared at his options, running a hand over the different fabrics and briefly skimming the sizes...wait, sizes?! Crap, he didn't know what size she was!

He had heard of this from other guys; dude walks in, wanting to get something for his girl, buys some clothes, walks away happy, feeling pretty proud of himself, and then when he gives said gift to girl, and she gets her panties in a wad because he got 2 sizes too big. Or too small.

Yeah.

That was _not_ going to happen to him.

Terry loitered around the clothing section for a few more minutes so that it didn't seem like a complete waste of time to the saleswoman eyeing him like a hawk, before finally deciding to leave. He was almost home-free when the same sales lady flagged him down again.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" she asked cheerily.

Terry suppressed a sigh as he turned around to face her. "Uh, you know...I just didn't see anything she woulda liked," he replied as nicely as possible.

"Okay. Have a nice day!" She called.

He gave her a tight-lipped smile as he walked out. He was _so_ done with this place, lingerie be damned. He checked his watch. 2:43. He still had time to hit one more place.

As he looked up, a video game store caught Terry's eye. Bingo.

* * *

"Back already?" Came the amused voice of the GameStop employee, Chad.

Terry had recently bought the latest Grand Theft Auto from here, and he was no stranger to the workers. This place was one of his usual stops, and he daresay he was a regular here.

"Actually, I wanna get something for my girlfriend," Terry explained.

Chad gave a sly smirk. "_Oohh_, _I_ see. So what does she like? Adventure? Strategy? FPS?"

He was going to go with his gut on this one.

"Uh, she's really into action games. You know, the violent kind, kinda scary?"

Chad smiled perversely. "_Ohhh_, I know what _you_ need..."

He led Terry over to a shelved corner, briefly searched for what he was looking for, and handed him a game.

Terry looked it over. "Dead Space?"

"I know it might not seem like it, but you'd be surprised at how many chicks dig this game," Chad explained.

Upon seeing Terry's doubtfulness, he backtracked. "OR, if you wanna play _with_ your lady, then I recommend this." He handed him another game.

Left4Dead.

"Zombies are _all_ the rage right now, and if she doesn't like it, I don't know _what_ to say."

On a whim, Terry decided to go with Dead Space.

"Nice," Chad praised, ringing him up on the register.

"$23.95."

Terry shoved the money into his hands.

"Alright, here ya go," Chad handed him his bag. Terry snatched it up and walked off.

"Come back soon!"

He just kept walking.

* * *

Once he was out of there, Terry stopped by a fast food place to buy Maggie a burger. While he was waiting in line he checked the time. 3:30?! Had he seriously screwed around that long? It was gonna take him at _least_ a other fifteen minutes to get back to school!

Maggie was probably wondering where the hell he was at, maybe even thought he'd ditched her!

The line moved quickly, and Terry hastily ordered and paid for his food before practically dashing for his car and speeding back towards McKinley.

* * *

Maggie sat on the school steps, cradling her face in her hands. She had sent her mother a text about Terry driving her to school, and she had agreed he could take her to and from McKinley, but they could only go 'out' once a week. It seemed like a good setup.

Now, of course, with Terry nowhere to be seen, she wasn't so sure.

She was gonna be mad if he'd forgotten about her, and she really didn't want to have to call her mom back and ask her to pick her up. It certainly wasn't going to look good to her parents when she got home an hour late on the first day. No, sir.

But it was nearly an hour after school. It was cold, and the sun would be going down soon.

Maybe she-

Maggie's doubts were lifted as she saw a black Mustang pull into the school parking lot. She sighed, getting up and dusting herself off as she grabbed her book bag and trotted up to him.

The window rolled down to reveal Terry's smug face. "Miss me?" He grinned, reaching over and opening the passenger door for her.

Maggie rolled her eyes, smiling as she got into the car. "You do realize it's been an hour since school let out?"

Terry sucked on his teeth. "Which, is exactly why...I got you this," he dove his hand into a brown paper bag as he drove with his wrist, digging out a burger and tossing it to her.

Maggie caught it with ease, briefly inspecting it before unwrapping it in her lap. "Three whole hours for a burger, huh?" She feigned suspicion as she sunk her teeth into the double-stack.

"Yeah, but you still love me, right?"

Maggie took out her phone, still chewing as she replied, "We'll see."

Terry glanced, if not a little nervously, at her - more specifically, her phone - before turning his attention back to the road.

"Who you textin'?"

"My mom. I'm telling her I'm at your place right now. You know, since you're an hour late?"

He put a hand up in defense. "Hey, that sales lady was _very_ persistent-"

"Sales lady? I thought you were getting me a burger." She smirked.

It was silent after that.

...

...

...

"...Well I didn't say that was _all_ I did..."

"Mhm..."

She took another bite.

* * *

The sun was setting by the time Terry pulled into his driveway. They were both unbuckling themselves when Maggie accidentally dropped the wrapper to her burger.

"Woops." As she leaned over to pick it up, she noticed a bag peeking out from underneath her seat.

"What's this?" She asked, reaching down to pick it up.

Terry knew exactly what it was. It was the GameStop bag.

Panicking, Terry moved his leg over and forcefully kicked it further under the seat. "What's what?"

Maggie looked at him, flabbergasted. "Wha-what?!"

"What?"

"The...thing!"

"What thing?"

"The thing you just shoved under the seat!"

"Maggie, all I see is the floor."

"...You're unbelievable."

"Damn right you love me."

* * *

Terry brought Maggie inside, and he was finally able to appreciate how clean the place was, aside from the broken railing. Maggie had done a pretty damn good job. Now he was _really_ glad he'd bought her that gift. It was the least he could do, considering she didn't even live here.

"You're welcome." Maggie said simply, as though reading his mind.

She walked past him to the kitchen, no doubt to throw away her trash.

Terry walked into the living room and over to the television. In the 4.5 seconds it took him to get there, his world shattered. There, laying on the coffee table, broken, battered and bruised, was the Xbox 360 Elite.

Damnit. He'd totally forgotten. So much for Grand Theft Auto...

"Something wrong?" Asked Maggie as she walked into the living room.

Upon seeing the object his attention was focused on, she slowly backed away.

"Right...sorry."

And she left him to mourn in peace.

* * *

After a few moments of silence, Terry went out to his car to retrieve Maggie's gift from under the seat, stuffed it in his jacket, then went in search of Maggie. He found her in his room. She was standing at his bedside, a bundle of sheets in one hand and her phone in the other.

"You know, you really should make your bed..." she said absent mindedly as she pressed buttons on her phone.

Terry walked up and snatched the covers out of her hand._ "Gimme that..."_ he mumbled.

"That was my mom," Maggie said, gesturing to her phone. "I should probably go..." she motioned to the door.

"...Oh." he said, dropping the sheets.

"Yeah," she said, giving a lopsided smile.

Awkward silence...

"Uh, hey. I'll walk you out." Terry offered. That was something boyfriends did, right?

...Right?!

Maggie shrugged. "Okay."

Right.

* * *

Terry stepped in front of Maggie to open the door for her.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow, then..." Holy _shit_ that was lame. Of course he would see her tomorrow, they went to the same _school._

"Duh," she mocked, rolling her eyes.

They both laughed. Dammit, he felt like such a nerd...

"Bye." Maggie waved, stepping in front of him to leave.

Feeling the need to un-dorkify himself, Terry decided to do something spontaneous. Before she even had one foot out the door, he grabbed hold of Maggie's sleeve, spun her around, and (a bit more forcefully than intended) kissed her.

It was kinda clumsy and a little awkward, but it had the desired effect. Maggie's eyelashes fluttered as she opened her eyes, surprise evident on her face.

"Uh...wow, um..."

As she stuttered for something to say, Terry slipped the GameStop bag into her book bag.

"Bye," he smirked.

She smiled back, somewhat nervously, as if she wasn't sure what he was going to do next. "...Bye."

And she left.

* * *

Maggie plopped down on her bed, exhausted from the day's events. So much had happened...it was then that she noticed the absence of someone. Two someones. Maggie took out her cellphone, debating on whether or not to call up Rachel.

In the end she decided not to. She was worn out, and Rachel could be a bit of a motor-mouth. Besides, she'd see her tomorrow.

Setting her phone on her bed stand, Maggie sat up to move her book bag. As she moved to place it beside her bed, she heard something fall out of the side pocket. Curious, she reached down to pick it up, thinking it was a notebook.

She was quite surprised to find not a notebook, but a bag. A GameStop bag.

Hey...it was the same bag she'd found under her seat in Terry's car!

Maggie dug inside the bag, pulling out a single game: Dead Space.

Huh. Not a bad pick.

As she began to ungracefully tear off the packaging, a thought struck her: How did he know she had a 360?

...Oh, well.

She tossed the thought aside, continuing to work on the case. Once the plastic was off, Maggie opened the it up and stared at the disc. As much as she wanted to play it, she needed to do homework. And sleep...she'd mess with it later.

She set the case down next to her phone, smiling when she thought of Terry going out of his way to_ buy_ something for her.

She'd have to thank him tomorrow...

* * *

Terry stood in his bedroom, thinking of Maggie. He wondered if she'd found his gift yet. Probably.

Well, he hoped she liked it. If she didn't, he was going to march right back up to GameStop and punch 'Chad' right in the face.

Maybe.

In the midst of his angry musings, a panicked thought suddenly hit him. What if she didn't even have a 360?! What if it was a PS3? Or a classic Xbox? Or worse... a Wii?!

What if he'd just bought a game for a console she didn't even have?! She'd think he was insensitive and incapable of shopping on his own, and then she'd say he didn't pay enough attention to her...

In the middle of his panic attack, Terry was hit with another thought: wait a second. Maggie wasn't like that. She'd understand. She knew it was the thought that counted. He had nothing to worry about.

It was too late now, anyway.

Letting out a breath of exasperation, Terry grabbed a handful of his bed sheets. He really should make his bed...

**A/N: Yeah, this is probably my least favorite chapter in the whole story. Not because of the idea or what happened or anything, but because I just couldn't quite get it to how I wanted it. Idk. **

**But anyway, I hope you enjoyed a sentimental Terry, even if it was kinda sorta really OOC ^^**

**I don't know what kind of sales Victoria's Secret has, if any. I've never shopped there, and I'm not even entirely sure the Pink brand belongs to them, so I apologize if I was inaccurate there :P**

**Danny and Rachel return in the next chapter, and we're back on to the funnies! ( '-')/**


	21. Moment

**A/N: In THIS chapter: Maggie reunites with Rachel and Danny, Rachel asks questions, Terry gets annoyed, and Maggie and Terry share a moment.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Drillbit Taylor.**

Chapter 21: Moment~

The next day started out much the same as the one before. Maggie woke up, got dressed, ate, brushed her teeth, and headed out to walk the short distance to Terry's house to wait for him to come outside and drive her to school.

He sped ahead of everyone on the way there, and she took note that he seemed to always drive at least five miles over the speed limit.

They walked up the steps leading to the entrance together, and sat near each other just like they had before, and Maggie hoped (for everyone's sake, really) that the gossip and hype of yesterday had died down, and that she could be left to study and listen in peace.

Unfortunately, she was only half right.

* * *

Although she didn't have to deal with the stares and jeers of the day previous, Maggie still had the distinct feeling that they were talking about her behind her back. There was still gossip, it was just hushed, whispered.

Whether they did this because they felt sorry for her and wanted to give her some space, or because they were afraid of being punched out by Filkins, she didn't know. But she was still happy for the quiet-

_"Oh my gosh, it's her!"_

Never mind.

* * *

Lunch came around, just like the day before, only there was no tripping or punching involved. She sat with Terry and Ronnie and Alexandria, just like the day before, and-

"Maggie!"

And that's where the similarities end.

Maggie blinked, mouth full of pudding, her head snapping upwards at the sound of her name, hair whipping about her face.

"Ow, wha-_hey!"_

Oh, and Ronnie's.

Her eyes scanned the area, looking for the source of the voice amidst the hundreds of faces in the cafeteria. She had searched for about 1.2 seconds before her eyes landed on Rachel, one hand waving wildly about the air, the other holding her food tray, while Danny stood apologetically behind her.

Swallowing, Maggie gave her a half-wave, smiling back. She watched bemused as Rachel excitedly grabbed Danny by the arm and began dragging him over to their table.

As they bobbed and weaved in and out of other student's way, Maggie turned to Terry and nudged him, gently, in the ribs, letting him know they had company coming.

Even though she was sure he knew they were her friends, Terry certainly didn't bother to hide the obvious look of disdain on his face as he eyed their new visitors-

Danny gave a friendly nod in Maggie's direction as they sat down.

_Or_ the obvious glare sent Danny's way.

* * *

As expected, a somewhat awkward silence ensued. And, as also expected with Rachel at the table, said silence lasted for about two seconds.

"Ohmygosh, WHY haven't you talked to us since the party?"

This was going to be a long day.

Not for Maggie, of course. She was used to, and even enjoyed, Rachel's constant, sometimes incessant babble. No, it was Terry she was worried about. He wasn't an introvert by any means, and he could always hold a conversation, but he wasn't one for unnecessary words.

Or, in this case, unnecessarily annoying questions.

This, of course, didn't stop Rachel from asking said annoying questions.

"So you guys are together now?"

An annoyed sigh came from Maggie's right.

She'd better do all the talking. "Yes."

"When? The night of the party?"

The sound of a plastic spoon stabbing mashed potatoes.

"Yes."

Rachel gasped. "Did you stay the night?"

The spoon snapped.

"...Yes?"

Another gasp, this time longer and more drawn out. "OH. MY. GOSH."

By now, Maggie could practically feel Terry silently seething beside her. She could have sworn she saw a vein pop somewhere in his forehead, but that could have just been her peripherals messing with her.

One thing was certain: she was treading on extremely dangerous ground now. At this point she wasn't sure who he would be angrier with; Rachel for asking such personal questions, or her for giving such personal answers.

Either way, this ship was sinking. Fast. And this conversation needed to change course even faster. It was very obvious how uncomfortable everyone was getting.

Leave it to Maggie to save the day.

Just as Rachel began asking another (most likely intimate) question, Maggie cut her off.

"Um, Rachel, do you wanna come over after school?"

Rachel seemed to consider this, and Maggie knew she had successfully sidetracked her.

"Mmm...okay, sure."

The entire table breathed a sigh of relief.

* * *

The rest of lunch seemed to consist mainly of small talk between Ronnie and Danny, Rachel sending knowing looks towards Maggie, Terry sending murderous looks towards Danny, and the ever present sounds of chewing.

More or less.

Either way, Maggie was immensely happy she was able to successfully change the topic of conversation. Disaster avoided. She still didn't want to have to deal with Terry, though.

She could tell from his rigid posture and forced expression of indifference that he was still brooding from earlier. And she knew she was going to catch _some_ kind of heat for it, whether she liked it or not.

So, of course she was hesitant in getting up from her seat to trot off to their next class when lunch ended. But she couldn't escape.

She prolonged it as long as possible; she was the last to get up, the last to throw away her trash, the last to turn in her tray, and the last one out of the cafeteria. But she found herself out in the hallway with Filkins all too soon.

She sighed deeply to herself. She really would prefer to deal with this when he wasn't angry, but Terry was too stubborn for that. Oh, well. Rolling her eyes, Maggie steeled herself.

Bring it.

* * *

Oddly enough, Terry never brought it up. He didn't speak at all, actually, the entire time they walked to class. Was he still mad? Had she just dodged a bullet? Was this unexpected silence good? Was it bad? Did it mean he was thinking? Did it mean he was trying his hardest not to blow up on her?

...Did it mean anything?!

As Maggie began going into hyperdrive, they reached the door leading to Ms. Zachey's english class.

Just as she reached out to grab the door handle, Terry stopped her. She was sure he was going to say something - he obviously looked like he wanted to - but he didn't. After a few seconds of watching him struggle to open his mouth, Terry gave up.

He sighed, exasperated, and muttered a lame, "Here..." he shook away her hand and opened the door for her.

Maggie couldn't help looking at him strangely as she stepped inside.

* * *

To say Filkins was restless during english was an understatement. He was downright hyperactive. He was...whatever word meant 10 times as much as restless did. He just couldn't keep still.

Whether it was drumming his fingers on his desk an infinite amount of times, tapping his feet on the tile floor repeatedly, or hitting the end of his pencil against his notebook over and over again, he just couldn't manage to just sit his ass down.

He did that when something was bothering him, become restless. But never like this. He was usually able to hide it better, too. But he was so obvious in his actions that Ms. Zachey actually called him out on it.

"Mr. Filkins, do you have to go to the bathroom?"

The _nerve_ of that woman! A few of the students were brave enough to snicker, so Terry answered Ms. Zachey's question with his famous don't-piss-me-off tone, reserved specifically for occasions like this.

"No, Ms. Zachey. I'm just really looking forward to meeting up with some of my _friends_ after school."

That shut them up.

"Okaaaay..." Ms. Zachey replied suspiciously, walking back over to the blackboard.

And class went on.

* * *

Unfortunately, it went on horrendously slow for Terry.

...Gah, he just couldn't stop thinking about what happened at lunch! The gall of that...that...Maggie was his girlfriend, Goddammit!

No matter what he did, he just couldn't keep his mind from wandering back to that Godforsaken cafeteria. And whenever he did he thought about that little nitwit.

And he got angry.

Very angry.

And when he got angry, he seethed.

He couldn't help it. It was just the way he was.

Terry was glad to be sitting behind Maggie. He really didn't want her to see him like this. Granted, it was a bit late for that. But he was practically coming apart at the hinges, here! He was ready to Hulk out and start flipping tables and...shit like that.

As he sat in his chair trying to calm himself, Terry was seriously wishing he would've just told her what the hell was bothering him. It would have been so much easier. But nooo, he had to think of her _feelings_ and bring _those_ into play.

He had to keep his mouth shut because he didn't want her to 'worry' or 'get mad'...or...any of those other things girls did.

Terry let out an angry huff, looking up to stare at the clock.

12:30.

Damn.

* * *

And so, throughout the rest of McKinley High's school hours, Terry (for lack of a better word) brooded.

He looked at the apples sitting on the teacher's desk, which made him think about food, which made him think about lunch, which made him think about cafeterias, which made him think about what happened at lunch which made him think about a certain one of Maggie's 'friends' which made him think about how annoying they were which made him think about stupid, dumb, oblivious, clueless, ignorant, lame, dorky, _retarded_ people which made him think about how angry he was which oh God yes, was that the bell?

The second class was over, Filkins was out of there. He didn't bother waiting for Maggie; he needed to cool down a bit, anyway.

* * *

He was sitting in his car, deep in thought, when she finally caught up to him. She tapped on the passenger side window, and he almost jumped out of his skin before recovering and unlocking the door to let her in.

Though she seemed perfectly happy, he could tell that she was going to ask him about what he was going to say earlier. Not that he minded. He had to get this shit off his chest, anyway, it was practically eating him alive.

They sat together in silence, comfortably at first. But it soon turned awkward. And by 'soon' he meant about five seconds.

Well, screw this. If she wasn't going to talk, he was.

Turning towards Maggie, Terry was the first to speak. "I don't want you hanging around _Danny_," he said the name with disgust, "anymore."

She looked at him like he had just come out of nowhere. Opening and closing her mouth for a few seconds, it took her a bit to reply. "I-I...wha-what? why?" She finally managed to stutter, sounding completely confused.

Now it was Terry's turn to stutter. "I...you...wha- are you _shitting me?_ He was eyeballing you like a freaking hawk at lunch! How could you not notice?!"

Maggie turned away, staring at the dashboard in thought.

She turned back to him. "Wait, so this isn't about Rachel?"

Now_ he_ was confused. "Who?"

She gave him a look. _"Rachel?_ The girl that wouldn't stop talking?"

Oh. Her. Was that her name?

"What? _No._ Why would it be?"

"Well, at lunch. She was asking all those questions and..."

Terry put in his key to start the car, looking away from her.

"...and...you know...she said-"

His head snapped back in her direction. _"What? What_ did she say?"

Upon realizing just how clueless he was on this subject, Maggie promptly shut her mouth. "Nothing," she said hurriedly, buckling her seatbelt.

Oh, _hell_ no. Now he was interested.

"Maggie."

She ignored him, instead focusing on tightening her seatbelt.

"Maggie."

Still nothing.

What the hell was it? Had he really been so focused on breaking Danny's neck that he didn't notice whatever this 'Rachel' person said?

Reaching over, Terry snapped his fingers in front of her face. _"Maggie!"_

That got her attention. Now back to business. "What did she say?"

"Nothing! It's nothing, just forget about it."

"Hell no! Now what did that little-"

He never got to finish his sentence, because the next thing he knew Maggie's lips were pressed softly against his.

* * *

After a few seconds, she pulled away, a small smile gracing her features. All thoughts of Rachel flew out the window.

"What was that for?" He asked, confused.

She smiled laughingly. "For the _game_, you idiot." She playfully slapped his arm. "Thanks." She finished sincerely.

So she did like it...sweet.

"Oh, well..." God, he hadn't said this in years, "you're welcome."

She stared at him lovingly, and he couldn't help but think of how sweet she was when she was sentimental.

And that's when the thought of Rachel flew right back _through_ the window like a boomerang and hit him right in the head.

"Now what did she say?"

And just like that, Maggie's smile dropped like a sky-diver with no parachute.

Turning away, she threw her hands up. "OH, my GOSH!"

"What? I just want to know what the hell she said! Why is that such a big deal?"

"We had a moment."

"A moment?"

"Yes, a moment. We were having a moment and you ruined it."

"Oh. What a shame."

"Jerk."

"Secret-keeper."

"Underachiever."

"Overachiever."

"Just start the car."

"Just tell me what she said."

"I'll tell you later, now let's just go!"

"..."

"...What?"

"...I got nothin'."

She laughed, and he started the car.

**A/N: Just so you know, the next chapter takes place on the same day as this. Just saying.**


	22. Sleepover

**A/N: In THIS chapter: Rachel interrogates Maggie.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Drillbit Taylor.**

Chapter 22: Sleepover~

When Maggie got home that day, Rachel was already there waiting for her. The moment they finished eating dinner, Rachel all but dragged Maggie upstairs to her bedroom so she could spill her guts to her.

After she had explained everything and answered all questions known to man about such things, Rachel didn't dare hide her excitement.

"OH, my, gosh! I cannot believe you spent the night at Filkins' house!" She gushed. "How is he?"

Maggie's eyes widened. "Um...I'm not sure what you mean..."

"Oh, don't be such a pervert," Rachel waved her off. "I mean _how is he?_ You know? To be around?"

Oh. She could answer that. "He's nice...enough. I mean, he's a little rough around the edges, but-"

"Eek!"

"He's a good person...deep down, anyways."

_"Eek!"_

"...Could you...stop that, please?"

"EEK- sorry."

"Girls! Time for bed!"

Maggie's mother came in, a large hamper in her arms. "Rachel, your parents forgot your sleeping bag, so you'll have to share the bed with Maggie."

Maggie's head whipped in Rachel's direction. "Sleeping bag?"

Her friend just smiled. "Yeah. Didn't you hear? I'm sleeping over!" She winked.

Maggie had to strain to keep from visibly deflating. She liked Rachel, but...URGH! She thought she was over with all the questions!

"I thought you could use some girl-time," her mother smiled wryly.

Oh, so she was in on this too, huh? She should have known.

"Oh..." was all she could muster in reply.

Silence...

"Well, have fun, girls." Maggie watched as her mother picked up a few stray articles of clothing lying around in her room, tossed them into the hamper she was carrying, and left, shutting the door behind her.

* * *

That night was spent gossiping, talking, giggling (on Rachel's part) and snoring. And as she stared at the clock on her nightstand, watching the minutes tick by, Maggie was sure she wasn't going to get a wink of sleep before school.

**A/N: A really short chapter, I know. Surprising, isn't it? Well that's because this was actually a part of chapter 21, as was the next chapter. I just wanted to shorten it. **

**So the next chapter will be another shorty, but it's not really important, so if you'd rather just go ahead and skip to the finale, go right ahead, you won't miss anything ;)**


	23. Acceptance

**A/N: In THIS chapter: Maggie has a surprise run-in with the boys, MaggiexFilkins becomes old hat, and the school eventually moves on.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Drillbit Taylor**

Chapter 23: Acceptance~

The rest of the week was a blur, but on Friday something mildly interesting happened. Maggie had just come out of the bathroom when she noticed someone (well, _someones_) approaching her.

It was Wade. And Ryan. And Emmit was trailing not far behind.

She wondered what they wanted, if anything, so she stood and waited as they caught up to her.

As they came to stand in front of her, Wade spoke. "Thanks...for...getting rid of Filkins."

"Pssh. _Shackin'_ up with him's more like it..." Ryan interjected, earning a swift elbow to the ribs.

Emmit stepped forward. "What my friends are _trying_ to say, is that we're truly _grateful_," he gave Ryan a look, "for getting Filkins off our backs."

Maggie smiled. "You're welcome."

She could have said more, but she didn't. She could have told them they had their whole lives ahead of them, that they could have - would have - stopped Filkins if she had never even been there, moved here, never existed. She could have told them that it was silly and that they didn't have to live in fear of an 18 year old boy, but she didn't.

Instead, she just smiled. And so did they.

No more words were needed.

* * *

As the week ended, Maggie also noticed the absence of Mr. Taylor and the mysterious substitute teachers. No one mentioned them, no one gossipped. There wasn't even any talk among the staff or faculty, or the janitor. It was almost as if they'd been wiped from the face of the Earth.

Rachel told her at lunch that day that Mr. Taylor (along with the other substitutes) had disappeared altogether, without so much as a resignation. Ronnie told her that he had seen him down by the beach on the way to school, and that he was homeless.

And then, of course, there was all of the general speculation among the rest of the students.

She probably never would know the hows or whys of this school.

* * *

As the days passed, and as she spent more and more time with Filkins and Ronnie and Alexandria (who she was now good friends with) she began to notice the change in the rest of the students.

They no longer regarded her as a loser or a slut. And after a while, she didn't have to deal with hostile stares as she walked down the hall to her locker, or clutch her books extra tight so the little bastards didn't 'accidentally' knock them out of her hands.

Nope.

After about a week or so of being together, she and Filkins were old hat.

_Hey, did you hear? Filkins is going out with someone!_

_Oh, yeah, I heard that. With that short girl? Where have you _been_, man?_

And so on, and so forth.

And course, this could only mean one thing, and one thing only: they were becoming accepted.

And that was alright with her.

**A/N: I thought it would be kinda sorta sweet to have the boys (Wade, Emmit, Ryan) have one last interaction with Maggie, if only to say thank you.**

**Anyway, don't let me keep you. Go ahead and click/tap/push that button for the ending! :D**


	24. Thanks

**A/N: ****This chapter takes place on ThanksGiving, even though if you do the math I'm sure we're far past that date XD**

**Ignore it and just read lol.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Drillbit Taylor. Or Charlie Brown.**

Chapter 24: Thanks~

The Lovelace household buzzed with life. People talked, gossipped, chattered, and joked. The sounds of laughter, and clattering plates, and utensils hitting the tablecloth as mothers and daughters bustled to and from the kitchen to set the table. The smells of hot, steaming, mouthwatering food as all of the different armoas filled the house.

It was ThanksGiving, and Maggie couldn't be happier.

She loved seeing all of her distant relatives, catching up on the latest news of the family. She didn't usually participate in any of the conversation, but she loved hearing and observing her mother and father as they interacted with everyone.

* * *

Mom's conversations:

_Hey, guess what? Aunt Jodie's having a baby!_

_Really? No way, I thought her and Gordon were getting a divorce!_

_Well, things are better now. From what I hear, things are going great. They're going to Maui next week, you know_.

_No!_

* * *

Dad's conversations:

_Hey, Rick, how's it goin'?_

_It's going good, man, thanks for asking. I finally got that motor running._

_Really? I thought you said that thing was a piece of junk and you were getting rid of it._

_Wife changed my mind. She said I needed a hobby after my hip replacement._

_Oh. Yeah, I hear ya. Surgery's a real downer._

* * *

And so on and so forth.

Maggie loved seeing all of her aunts and uncles and grandmas and grandpas and cousins. And it wasn't because they always brought gifts, either. They hardly ever saw each other, so it was always twice as exciting to see what was happening in everyone's lives, and Maggie always kept track from year to year.

* * *

But this year was different. Not because cousin Annie and cousin Marilyn were best friends again after three long years, or because Uncle Earl couldn't make it this year, but because she had Terry.

Yes, they were still together after all this time, and Terry was on good enough terms with Maggie's parents that they let him stay over for ThanksGiving.

She hadn't had the chance to spend much time with him today, though; Maggie's aunts (well, great aunts) practically dragged him away the second he walked in the door. And _that _was a good half-hour ago.

For all she knew they were_ still_ fawning over him.

As expected, he got on perfectly well with the old ladies. With his boyish face and general 'angel' persona, it wasn't long (like, 5 seconds) before Terry was pulled away to chat within the inner circles of the elders of the family.

Maggie had no qualms with this, instead finding it rather cute (not to mention funny). If anything, she was glad. At least now she wouldn't have to explain all of the drama and inner workings of her weird family.

Maggie sat on the couch watching Charlie Brown's ThanksGiving, enjoying the all-around happiness and warm glow the house was wrapped in.

She loved this time of year...

Just then, she felt a pair of arms slowly encircle her neck, hugging her from behind the sofa.

"Hey, dinner's about to start," Terry said, kissing the side of her head.

"You finally manage to get away from your fan club?" She laughed, looking behind him at the group of old ladies gathered around the corner, watching in delight.

"Well, you can't have me _all_ to yourself. My people await." He joked, sending a charming smile at aunt Edna.

Maggie sputtered in laughter. "Okay, dude, that's _quite_ enough. I think you're a bit high on your horse, there."

Terry kissed her ear. "You know you love me," he teased.

He stood up, Maggie following.

"C'mon," he said. "Supper's ready-"

"EVERYONE! SUPPER'S READY!" Her mother all but screamed.

He shrugged. "See?"

Maggie chuckled and rolled her eyes, taking his hand as he led the way to the dining room.

* * *

As everyone seated themselves to say Grace, Maggie looked around the table. Everything was so perfect. All of her relatives were here - save for Uncle Earl - everyone was in fairly good health, everyone was happy, and now she had someone to share it all with, if only for a little while.

She was honestly surprised they had made it this far together. Everyone was, really. Her friends, her parents, her school. Everyone. Even herself.

She had often wondered how long it would last. Would it be a week? A day? A month? How much more time did they have together? Would they still be with each other by the end of the day? Of the month? Of the year? What if this was all they had left? What if something happened the very next day that split them apart? What if his parents didn't approve? Of her? Of them?

She would worry herself over these little things at the end of every other day, just as she was doing now.

_But she_ didn't_ have to worry,_ her mind told her. _You both have a good thing going right now. So_ what _if it ends today? Tomorrow? Next year? At least by then you will have both lived this out to its fullest potential, and you can lean back on all the great memories later._

That counted for something, didn't it?

Her rational mind was right, of course. They were still in high school, for Pete's sakes! They shouldn't be worrying about long-term relationships! They should both just ride it out for as long as they can, and enjoy it while it lasts.

But that didn't stop her from worrying, anyway.

As Maggie stared at the tablecloth under her dinner plate, she felt someone grab hold of her hand. She looked up to meet Terry's eyes. He was smiling at her. He squeezed hand, quelling any fears that had been previously playing in her head.

Aunt Darla, who was sitting to her left, grabbed hold of her other hand.

Everyone bowed their heads.

Yeah, she reasoned with herself. There was every reason to worry. But there was also every reason not to. She had to focus on the happy. On the _now_. And right now, everybody was happy.

"Terry, would you like to say Grace?"

Never mind.

* * *

End.

* * *

**A/N: Woo! It's FINALLY DONE! :D I wanted to keep this chapter under 1,000 words and I DID IT! As long as you don't count these Author's Notes, lol.**

** I hope this ending was good enough for you. If not, then I apologize, but don't expect it to change cuz I can't think of nothin' else lol XD**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this story, at least a little bit ^^ But then again if you didn't, then how the heck did you get all the way up here?! XD**

**Oh, and if I missed anything or screwed something up (not just in this chapter but in the story as a whole) PLEASE tell me so I can fix it. I WILL have perfection! \\(*-*)/**

**Again, thanks to everyone who:**

**1\. Looked**

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**4\. Read**

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**10\. And...ten XD**

**Feel free to fave and review, or both, or neither, or nothing at all :D**

**Not sure when I'll write another story, or what it'll be for, but I've got some in mind ;) I'm thinking of maybe a GalexKatniss (Hunger Games) fanfiction...maybe. idk. Suggestions are open!**

**'Til next time! **


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